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No sooner had breakthrough hepatitis C drugs been placed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme than they topped the list of the most expensive medicines for taxpayers to subsidise.
After a 2015 recommendation from an expert advisory committee, the federal government in February listed on the PBS a series of hepatitis C medications including sofosbuvir and, separately, sofosbuvir with ledipasvir.
Health Minister Sussan Ley described it as a “watershed moment in Australian history”, saying “we are hoping to eliminate one of the great disease challenges facing Australia in the 21st century”.
The hepatitis C drugs topped the list of most costly medications to subsidise in the 2015-16 financial year, according to an analysis by Australian Prescriber magazine.