First new PBS medications listed for 2026

The first batch of medications listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) under newly reduced pricing includes an expanded use of adalimumab (sold as Humira) to treat juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
 
The medication is already listed to treat other paediatric immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and chronic plaque psoriasis and works by calming the immune system and reducing inflammation.
 
According to the Federal Government, up to 30,100 Australians aged 0–24 years could be living with arthritis.
 
The subsidy reduces the costs down from around $650 per script to $25, following the reduction of PBS co-payments that came into effect on 1 January.
 
Also listed is odevixibat (sold as Bylvay) which appears on the PBS for the first time as a treatment for progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis, a group of rare genetic liver diseases that mostly affect children.
 
Ublituximab (sold as Briumvi) is another first-time listing and has been approved for use as a treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).
 
The medication acts upon B-cells that cause inflammation and helps reduce relapses and slow disease progression.
 
More than 14,000 patients used a comparable treatment through the PBS in 2024, with a script without subsidy costing around $15,000.
 
It is the second consecutive month there has been a listing for RRMS treatment, following approval for a new ‘under-the-skin’ injection for ocrelizumab (sold as Ocrevus) to treat adult patients in December.
 
On 1 January 2026, the maximum cost of PBS medicines reduced from $31.60 to $25. The concessional co-payment will remain at $7.70 until 2030.
 
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Benefits Humira Medication PBS Pharmaceutical Scheme