OBJECTIVES:

Achieving market access in the Australian pharmaceutical market is challenging, as payers request greater certainty relating to clinical and cost effectiveness, as well as for budgetary constraints. Special Pricing Arrangements (SPAs), a type of Risk Sharing Arrangements (RSAs), are one method used by payers to increase certainty. The aim of this study was to analyse the use of SPAs in Australia between 2013 and 2021

METHODS:

An analysis was conducted using the Market Access One Stop Shop (MAOSS) database to identify all drugs listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) which had a SPA attached to the restriction.

RESULTS:

The number of drugs with SPAs increased from 52 to 143 between 2013 and 2021 which translates to a 13.8% annual growth over that period, however since 2018, growth has stalled to 8.5% per year. The number of drugs with a SPA constituted 30.0% of all branded drugs (F1) and 13.4% of all drugs listed on the PBS in 2021. Oncology products had the fastest growth of the use of SPAs where they constituted 23% of all SPAs in 2013, and 62% of all SPAs in 2021.

CONCLUSIONS:

This growth indicates that pharmaceutical companies need to be prepared for a SPA when applying for PBS listing of an oncology product in Australia.