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Another Drug Added to the PBS As Health Becomes A Key Battleground in the Election

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The drug Vimpat® (lacosamide) will be extended to include treatment of intractable partial epileptic seizures for children aged four to 15 years, in combination with two or more anti-epileptic medicines. The medicine is designed to assist with brain chemicals that send signals to nerves that affect the possibility of seizure.

There are approximately 14,000 children aged 15 years and under with partial onset seizures and this medicine will help 870 children per year who have trouble in controlling their epilepsy and seizures.

The medication is designed to stop children whom suffer seizures that affect only one part of the brain and they experience inadequate seizure control with currently available anti-epileptic drugs.

The medicine will be available on the PBS from 1st of May 2019.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Peak Body Seeking Participants for Updated Code

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Medical Technology Association of Australia is seeking participants for the 2019 Medical Technology industry Code of Practice.

Dates for the updated review are the 11th March 2019 til the 31st May 2019.

Framework for the review will be based upon setting standards of behaviour, educating Companies in the agreed standards, monitoring Industry activities, and providing self-regulation and disciplinary functions.

The code was first introduced in 2001 and was devised to formalise the ethical business practises for the member companies the MTAA represents. The aim of the code is in promoting high standards across the Medical Technology Industry, so patients can have full confidence in the industry and the products that are offered.

If you would like to be involved send an email to code@mtaa.org.au to organise participation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Measles Outbreaks On The Rise

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The accepted vaccinated rate for community immunity is 95%, however currently there are only 93.5% of 2-year-old children in Australia that have received their required two doses of measles vaccination.

Year to date there had already been 83 measles notifications in 2019, compared with 103 for the whole of 2018 and 81 for the whole of 2017.

The Australian Academy of Science has been left with the task of developing and distributing material that will aim to raise awareness amongst individuals and health professionals about the risks of measles and the importance of being fully vaccinated against the disease.

The promotion will be primarily through online channels and through engagement through media channels.

The four videos will focus on:

  • A measles explainer, to describe the disease’s epidemiology and symptoms.
  • An educational video for health professionals to raise awareness of increased notifications and the importance of talking to patients about their vaccination status and the availability of catch up vaccines (where appropriate).
  • A promotion for travellers to ensure they are aware of the risks of measles in countries where the disease is endemic or where there are outbreaks, and that a cost-effective vaccination option is available to protect them from the disease.
  • A promotion for those born between 1966 and 1994, to encourage them to check their vaccination status and talk to their GP if they are not sure.

The first symptoms of the virus are fever, tiredness, cough, runny nose, sore red eyes and general unwell feeling. With a rash appearing after a few days, the rash starts on the face, spreads down to the body and lasts for 4-7 days. Young children (especially infants) may also experience diarrhoea.

Up to a third of people with measles will have complications. These include ear infections, diarrhoea, and pneumonia, and may require hospitalisation. About one in every 1000 people with measles develops encephalitis (swelling of the brain).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Opposition’s $26 Million For Clinical Trials

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In a follow-on announcement from Labor’s signature Medicare Cancer Plan, is an investment of $26 million for clinical trials over four years. With the aim to ensure as many Australians as possible can access trials that can improve patient lives.

The funding will be broken down into three main segments and will be invested in the work of the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance, they include:

  • $12 million to support two research projects – one cancer related
  • $10 million to provide more support for existing Clinical Trial Coordinating Centres
  • $4 million to help ensure that results from clinical trials are quickly implemented

Clinical trials however don’t just benefit patients and the advancement of medical knowledge there are also estimated to be worth around $1 billion to the Australian economy each year.

The environment in which clinical trials are conducted is complex, often occurring across multiple jurisdictions and with every study needing ethics and governance approvals before it can commence.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Increased funding a boon MedTech in Victoria

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Victorian Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos has announced Victorian hospitals will receive $60 million in the latest round of the Medical Equipment Replacement Program and Engineering Infrastructure Replacement Program grants.

Both these programs are aiming to replace existing end-of-life, critical, high-risk assets that are deemed essential to maintaining life and safety in the state’s health care sector. Whilst maintaining ongoing continuity for acute services in public hospitals.

Jenny Mikakos stated “New state-of-the-art medical equipment and better hospital infrastructure will make sure more Victorians can get the world-class care they need, when they need it, closer to home.”

The grant funds will be focused on purchasing updated and new cutting-edge medical equipment such as mammography units, fluoroscopy units, digital X-ray machines and gamma cameras. In what would may be that start of a funding windfall for the states MedTech sector.

The State of Victorian is coming off several years of budget surplus thanks to a booming population and property market and is currently delivering the biggest pipeline of infrastructure projects in the state’s history. Having invested $3.2 billion on infrastructure in a first term Government, with another $3.8 billion to be delivered over the next four years.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

A Pandora’s Box of Possibilities for World First Trial

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Royal Melbourne Hospital will begin an early feasibility study for the safety of the Stentrode™ device. The Stentrode™ is a device that is placed inside a blood vessel of the brain located in the area that controls movement, the motor cortex.

Once implanted, the Stentrode™ picks up signals and transmits them to artificial intelligence software that can allow a person to communicate or control a computer.

It is the only investigational technology of its kind that does not require open brain surgery.

Five participants with loss of motor function due to paralysis from spinal cord injury, motor neuron disease, stroke, muscular dystrophy and loss of limbs were chon to take place in the ground-breaking trial. The research will be the first of its kind to be performed in humans and will attempt to find safer, more effective ways to implant electrical sensors in patients’ brains.

Testing is supported by Synchron (formerly known as SmartStent) that spun out of the University of Melbourne. A company that was founded in 2012 after a cold-call pitch to the Pentagon with a new concept for a Brain-Computer Interface by CEO and founder Thomas Oxley.

Synchron claims this technology has the potential to enable patients with paralysis to take back digital control of their world, without having to move a muscle.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Government to Spend $2 million Reviewing Effectiveness of Natural Therapies

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The last review was conducted in 2014-2015 and concluded 17 natural therapies offered through health insurance hadn’t been proven to work on patients. The therapies found unproven to work were:

  • Alexander technique
  • Aromatherapy
  • Bowen therapy
  • Buteyko
  • Feldenkrais
  • Western herbalism
  • Homeopathy
  • Iridology
  • Kinesiology
  • Naturopathy
  • Pilates
  • Reflexology
  • Rolfing
  • Shiatsu
  • Tai chi
  • Yoga

The updated review will be led by the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy and will be supported by an advisory panel of experts including Associate Professor of Public Health Jon Wardle from the University of Technology Sydney. In addition to Associate Professor Wardle the advisory panel will include other experts in natural therapies, consumer representatives, and experts in private health insurance, medicine, and allied health.

The private health insurance rebate is an amount the government contributes towards the cost of private health insurance premiums. The rebate can be claimed for premiums paid for a private health insurance policy that provides private patient hospital cover or general cover, commonly known as ‘extras’, or combined hospital and general cover.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Labor Guarantees Affordable Medicines

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Shadow Minister for Health Catherine King has stated that there are currently 18 drugs recommended by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee that the current Government have saidthey will never list. King also claimed, that at last count, there were more than 40 drugs that had been recommended by PBAC that were not listed.

King’s statement comes in response to the Government announcing an investment of more than $200 million to list four new breakthrough cancer treatments on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, saving patients up to a quarter of a million dollars a year. Almost 1,800 eligible patients with leukemia, advanced kidney cancer, bladder cancer and liver cancer will have new be able to access to scheme for the medicine.

The PBS was first introduced 65 years ago by the Chifley Labor Government and ensures all Australian citizens that listed medicines will be available for $40.30 for general patients and $6.50 for concession patients – regardless of what the drug would normally cost.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FOR RADIATION THERAPY FOR REGIONAL AUSTRALIA

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Announced as part of the $2.3 billion Medicare Cancer Plan announced in the Budget-in-reply this week, an elected Labor government would provide $60 million towards 13 radiation therapy facilities in rural and regional areas.

This follows on from the Coalition’s commitment of $45.5 million for regional radiation therapy in Tuesday’s Budget.

In Australia, radiation therapy is underused in the fight against cancer. In Europe and North America, 1 in 2 cancer patients receives it as part of their treatment, here it is only 1 in 3.

The medical technology industry has long called for greater funding for radiotherapy in Australia, with a campaign launched recently by the Radiation Therapy Advisory Group, a group formed in 2017, comprising of expert individuals and organisations dedicated to raising the profile of radiation therapy.

The Radiation Therapy for Regional Australia campaign was launched in Newcastle earlier this year, and their success in bringing the plight of rural and regional cancer patients to the attention of government has helped to ensure that all Australians have access to the treatment they need.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

GOVERNMENT ACKNOWLEDGES STRENGTH OF AUSTRALIA’S DEVICE REGULATIONS

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The medical devices industry welcomed this acknowledgement by the Federal Government that the regulatory requirements for medical devices in Australia are highly rigorous.

Patients benefit most when they have timely access to innovative new technologies and Government’s recognition of this as they work to strike right balance with effective and appropriate scrutiny of these technologies is crucial.

The medical devices industry supports measures proposed in the Action Plan to improve adverse event reporting by healthcare professionals and hospitals and welcomes moves to strengthen community awareness of how the safety and performance of medical devices is assessed.

Medical Technology Association of Australia’s CEO, Ian Burgess, said the MedTech industry welcomed the Government’s ongoing recognition of Australia’s regulatory requirements for medical devices as being amongst the most rigorous in the world.

“We are also pleased that Government has acknowledged that this rigor must be balanced with the need for patients to be able to access to new breakthrough technologies in a timely manner.

“Medical technology companies are legally required to report adverse events and often report beyond what is required by regulation, however, we welcome any moves to make this process more efficient.

“MTAA looks forward to continuing to participate in the ongoing review processes described in the Action Plan to ensure that Australians have access to the best and most innovative new technologies in order to live better and more fulfilling lives.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]