ARTICLE | Politics & Policy
Australia legislates lower drug prices
February 21, 2018 10:48 PM UTC
The Australian government passed legislation that mandates steeper price cuts to drugs on the country's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). The law increases the statutory price reduction applied to a drug upon approval of the first generic or biosimilar version to 25% from 16% previously.
It also ensures that prices will decrease overtime by imposing a 5% statutory price cut once a drug has been listed on the PBS for five years, followed by additional 10% and 15% price reductions on the drug's tenth and fifteenth anniversaries, respectively...