Health Minister Mark Butler has confirmed drugs including Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and Kesimpta (ofatumumab) will remain listed on the PBS while an urgent review of MS medicines is carried out, easing weeks of anxiety for patients, their families and clinicians.
''My position on this has been very clear - I want to see these drugs remain on the PBS. I'm very clear about the difference they are making to Australians living with MS,'' Mr Butler said.
The independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee examined the issue during a three-day meeting earlier in July and has written to the minister confirming its key advice.
''The experts confirmed what the MS community has told us - that there are clinical benefits from continuing to list Ocrevus, Kesimpta and Lemtrada on the PBS to make sure these drugs continue to be available for people who need them at the PBS price,'' Mr Butler said.
Without PBS support, Ocrevus alone could cost patients up to $33,000 a year.
The dispute was triggered by PBS pricing rules that group similar medicines together, with the cheapest drug in the group effectively setting the benchmark price.
The listing of a substantially cheaper competitor, Briumvi, was expected to force a 40 to 50 per cent price cut for Ocrevus and Kesimpta, prompting warnings from manufacturers that they could walk away from the scheme.
The committee has recommended a review, with Ocrevus, Kesimpta and Lemtrada remaining on the PBS while it takes place.
MS Australia, which had warned of the devastating impact on patients if the drugs were removed, applauded the outcome and said it was an ''incredibly important and deeply reassuring'' result for the MS community.
The organisation said Ocrevus and Kesimpta are often used as first-line treatments and a broad range of PBS-listed options was to allow timely, personalised decisions about care.
MS Australia director Sharlene Brown, who lives with the disease and has been successfully treated with Ocrevus for more than seven years, said the announcement would bring ''enormous relief'' to patients.
''Continued PBS access means people can keep working with their neurologists to choose the treatment that is right for them, without the fear that effective options will be placed out of reach,'' she said.
