MS Australia warmly welcomes the announcement from the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Mark Butler MP, that Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and Kesimpta (ofatumumab) will remain available through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
This is an incredibly important and deeply reassuring outcome for thousands of Australians living with multiple sclerosis (MS), their families, carers and clinicians, who have faced significant uncertainty about the future of their treatment access.
MS Australia also welcomes a PBAC review to better understand how these drugs are being used on the PBS and ensure the listings and therapeutic relativities remain consistent with the contemporary evidence base.
Such a review will provide greater confidence in the PBS and ensure that in the future, the critical and unique properties and benefits of a particular PBS-listed treatment are always considered.
Ocrevus and Kesimpta are high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies that are used as first-line treatments for many people with MS. MS is a complex and highly individual disease, and no single therapy is right for every person or at every stage of disease.
Continued access to a broad range of PBS-listed treatments is essential so that neurologists and people with MS can make timely, personalised treatment decisions that give each person the best chance of maintaining their health, independence, workforce participation and quality of life.
We thank Minister Butler for his strong public support for Australians living with MS and for recognising the difference these medicines make in people’s lives.
We also acknowledge the important role of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee and the Australian Government in safeguarding affordable access to effective medicines through the PBS.
Above all, MS Australia thanks the MS community for raising their voices and sharing their stories.
People living with MS, their families, clinicians, MS nurses and advocates made clear what was at stake: these treatments are not optional extras; they are life-changing medicines that help people remain well, active and connected to their communities.
MS Australia Director Sharlene Brown, lives with MS and has been successfully treated with Ocrevus for more than seven years, echoes that sentiment.
“This announcement will bring enormous relief to people living with MS and their families. 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.”
MS Australia will continue to work constructively with government, clinicians, researchers, industry and the MS community to ensure the PBS remains responsive to the needs of people living with MS and other complex neurological conditions.
Today is a moment of relief for the MS community. MS Australia will remain focused on ensuring every Australian living with MS can access the right treatment, at the right time, at an affordable cost.
Rohan Greenland
CEO, MS Australia
