PBAC wants COVID-19 antiviral prescribing rules tightened as cost reaches $1 billion

The committee suggested winding back nirmatrelvir–ritonavir's PBS criteria for 50-69-year-olds.

The PBAC has warned that the $981 million annual cost of subsiding COVID-19 antivirals must be curbed with stricter PBS criteria or price cuts for the manufacturers. 

Doctors wrote nearly 873,000 scripts for monlupiravir (Lagevrio) and nirmatrelvir–ritonavir (Paxlovid) last financial year, costing taxpayers over $1100 per script.

Following its November meeting, the PBAC said it had given the Federal Government new advice on drugs’ cost-effectiveness. 

It suggested that patients aged 50-69 should require at least two additional risk factors, rather than one, to be eligible for PBS-subsidised Paxlovid “due to reduced cost-effectiveness in this lower-risk population”. 

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