Why Lilly turned down PBS listing

The ultimate roadblock in Eli Lilly accepting the PBAC's recommendation to list Mounjaro on the PBS has been revealed - with neither the PBAC nor the company wanting to be responsible for the off-label use of one of the world's biggest drugs.

When the PBAC recommended Mounjaro be subsidised on the PBS for type 2 diabetes mellitus in its March meeting Lilly immediately rejected the proposal. One of the reasons it gave was the price in the recommendation.

"The price that the Australian Government is willing to pay for Mounjaro is significantly lower than any other reimbursed price globally, including comparable healthcare systems like the UK and countries with lower GDP per capita, such as China," Lilly noted.