ustralia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has been busy warning consumers about the dangers of accessing medicines from online sites outside of Australia. Several problematic products have recently been identified: For example, African Vigorous Max Strength and Ziyinzhuangyang tablets (both of which contain sildenafil not listed on the label), counterfeit ivermectin, and counterfeit Ozempic pens (which contain insulin, and are most likely relabelled insulin pens).

Patients in Australia with a valid prescription can lawfully import prescription-only medicines under the personal importation scheme, but cannot “knowingly or unknowingly” import counterfeit medicines even with a valid prescription. To help Australian citizens learn more about the dangers of this increasingly common practice, TGA has produced an excellent short video outlining the risks and providing advice about how to stay safe. This valuable information might be useful for consumers in many other countries.

Australian Clinical Trials Alliance Annual Awards 2024

Turning from medicines that may not be effective or safe, the always anticipated Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA) annual awards were announced on May 20 (International Clinical Trials Day) by the Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, indicating the significance of clinical trials and their likely impact on patient care and healthcare delivery in Australia.

The 2024 Trial of the Year is a great example of the power of well-designed, large, definitive studies which ask simple but very significant questions that could change healthcare: The ASAP (Australian Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis) Trial of vancomycin and cefazolin as surgical prophylaxis in arthroplasty. Arthroplasties such as knee, hip, and shoulder replacements are projected to total 2.7 million per annum by 2030 in the US alone. Each infection costs the US healthcare system more than $28K, and these infections in total increase annual US hospital costs by $1.85 billion.

The standard of care is to administer a parenteral antibiotic (first- or second-generation cephalosporin, such as cefazolin) at the time of surgery to reduce the risk of infection. However, given the rise in resistant organisms (such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA) causing these infections, adding a broader spectrum antibiotic such as vancomycin (used for serious, resistant bacterial infections) to cephalosporin could lower infection rates.

Led by Professor Trisha Peel, a Network and Investigator group of the University of Queensland, and Monash University (Victoria), the trial was large (more than 4000 patients), double-blind, multicenter, and placebo-controlled. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it demonstrated that vancomycin was not superior to placebo, providing the definitive evidence needed to cease this costly and ineffective intervention.

Medicines Australia Chair Announces Early 2025 Departure

In a significant change in leadership for the prescription medicines industry in Australia, the chair of Medicines Australia, Anna Lavelle, announced that she will step down in early 2025 from the position she has filled with distinction since 2018. She previously served as CEO of AusBiotech and has been globally recognized for her innovation, leadership, skilled stakeholder negotiations, championing of patients and improving health outcomes, including accepting a prestigious Fellowship in the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, induction as a Trailblazer into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2022, and conferring of an Order of Australia in 2023.

Thank You to Australian Prescriber Editor John Dowden

Australia’s National Medicines Policy (NMP) had been a significant positive thread woven throughout healthcare in Australia since it was officially announced in 2000. It stands upon four pillars: the medicines industry, the TGA, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), and the Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) as its “delivery arm.”

The ready availability of, and access to, evidence-based, unbiased, up-to-date, digestible medicines information is key to achieving QUM. One constant in fulfilling this important informational role has been the Australian Prescriber, first published by the Australian Department of Health in 1975, then from the National Prescribing Service (which became MedicineWise) beginning in 2002. The Prescriber has admirably met its original goal: to “assist clinicians, whatever their field, to prescribe the most appropriate treatment.” Its short, timely, unbiased, well-written articles and easily accessible content have become a trusted part of medical practice in Australia.

We were remiss to not note the retirement of Editor John Dowden after 32 years of distinguished service at the end of 2023. John’s tenure saw many accomplishments through his noteworthy ability to concisely summarize the key features of drugs newly registered by TGA, reflecting his background as a General Practitioner. He skillfully navigated the challenging voyage from print to online publication, through social media and podcasts access to Prescriber content while tenaciously advocating for its editorial independence.

John, your contribution has been immense and your influence global. Thank you.