John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My constituency question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, as a very special guest at the Bennelong Health Innovation Forum held at Macquarie University last year, you witnessed examples of remarkable technological developments by Bennelong's innovative medicines industry. Can you please advise the House of any recent breakthroughs in health innovation, particularly in the treatment of rare cancers?

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to take a question from the member for Bennelong, and indeed I did visit the Bennelong electorate to attend an initiative, a very good initiative initiated by my friend, the Bennelong health forum, which brings together innovation, pharmaceuticals, device manufacturers, people involved in public health, universities and many more, coming together in a large number to talk about our future, innovation when it comes to health, and the opportunity, of course, for patients, consumers, and those inside the health system to benefit from what these remarkable companies do and the contribution they make. In fact, the member for Bennelong is, I understand, bringing the forum to Canberra later this year, and I know that he will easily fill the Great Hall and spread a very strong message. He is indeed a great supporter.

It is my pleasure to advise the House that there is a breakthrough. There are indeed many breakthroughs, but one that we announced during the day that I spent with the member for Bennelong was a breakthrough recently funded on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Effective from this Monday, 1 February, the government has funded the drug ruxolitinib, for the treatment of the rare condition of myelofibrosis, which is a cancer of the bone marrow.

This is an investment of over $180 million over the next four years for a debilitating and potentially life-threatening condition that affects approximately four in 100,000 Australians. It is a small number of people. It is a rare cancer. We should be very encouraged that the world-class health system that we are able to bring to every single Australian allows us to fund this drug, which would otherwise cost those patients $100,000 a treatment—something they clearly would never be able to afford.

Much is said about MYEFO and the saves that the government makes, but not enough is said about the spends. In the December MYEFO, there was a $1.6 billion listing—a government spend on new breakthrough medicines, which included over $1 billion to fund revolutionary new treatments to cure hepatitis C, and also the drug ruxolitinib that I mentioned. We have already listed twice as many drugs on the PBS—new medicines, breakthrough medicines—than the previous government. We take this very seriously. It is the reason that we have to build the most sustainable health system we can, in order that we continue to make such treatments available to Australians.