5 May 2022 - The apparent high recommendation rate for the March 2022 meeting does have some downsides.

Five PBAC outcomes from the March 2022 meeting are associated with a comparison against the lowest (least) cost comparator:

• Beclomethasone dipropionate with eformoterol fumarate dihydrate (Fostair) - recommendation
• Beclomethasone dipropionate with eformoterol fumarate dihydrate and glycopyrronium bromide (Trimbow) - deferral
• Bimekizumab (Bimzelx) - recommendation
• Ozanimod hydrochloride (Zeposia) - recommendation
• Risankizumab (Skyrizi) - recommendation

These insights show that lowest cost comparisons are not confined to the raft of new DMARDs/bDMARDs.

Users of the MAESTrO Database (PBAC version) can readily identify all of the medicines that have been recommended by the PBAC on the basis of a comparison against the lowest (least) cost alternative.

The PBAC also called for (substantial/significant) price reductions for other medicines. This topic will be covered in a future article.