On 4 June 2025, Sandoz Australia published a white paper entitled “Pioneering Access for Patients Through Biosimilar Medicines” which outlines proposals for reducing healthcare costs and expanding patient access to biosimilars in Australia. The white paper is the outcome of a summit of stakeholders held in Canberra, Australia on 10 February 2025.
Noting that “Australia is behind most of its international counterparts in biosimilar uptake in retail pharmacies”, the white paper sets out four key policy proposals explored at the February summit:
- lowering patient co-payments for biosimilars;
- mandating biosimilars for new, treatment naïve patients;
- reducing administrative burdens for clinicians (e.g. removing Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) authority requirements once biosimilar uptake surpasses 70%); and
- reinvesting savings from increased biosimilar uptake into a chronic disease future fund.
The white paper suggests that such policy reforms could result in greater affordability and access to medicines for patients, increased competition and PBS savings, reduced prescribing complexity for healthcare professionals and more sustainable funding for new medicines and long-term health priorities.