Lilly's challenge to Australia's drug rationing scheme fails

Eli Lilly Australia has failed to overturn the repeated rejection of its osteoporosis drug teriparatide (Forteo) from being included in the government's drug subsidy scheme. An independent review, requested by the company, dismissed the clinical data in Lilly's submissions as inadequate.

The review was seen as a test case on whether a change, introduced at the insistence of the drug industry through the Australia-US free trade agreement, would make it easier to overturn decisions made by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. That committee decides which drugs are included in Australia's pharmaceutical benefits scheme, under which patients …