Friday, 28 August 2026

Planning for Sublocade withdrawal, New clinics exclude existing practices, Prescriber Bag ordering guidance

1. 01

   NSW guidance details transitions before Sublocade market withdrawal

   Sublocade, a long-acting slow-release buprenorphine injection for opioid dependence, will leave the Australian market by the end of the year, manufacturer Indivior announced. Final orders will be accepted until 11 December, with the last day for PBS claims on 31 December. NSW Health’s consensus advice outlines four options: switching to Buvidal, transferring to sublingual buprenorphine formulations, changing to methadone via sublingual buprenorphine, or completing Sublocade treatment and stopping opioid dependence treatment. RACGP addiction medicine chair Dr Hester Wilson urged prescribers to begin planning, maintain patient engagement and communicate with pharmacists and, where appropriate, families or carers. She cautioned that patients who stop treatment may experience withdrawal and return to riskier illicit opioids, and said similar guidance was likely in other jurisdictions.

   via RACGP newsGP

2. 02

   NSW bulk-billing clinic blueprint excludes existing general practices

   Existing general practices cannot receive funding under a $25.3 million plan to establish six bulk-billing clinics across the Central Coast, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hunter regions. Each clinic must be a newly established practice, bulk bill all eligible services, achieve RACGP accreditation and recruit a multidisciplinary workforce including at least 10 GPs. RACGP president Dr Michael Wright said excluding existing practices created an uneven playing field and could threaten local practices. The Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network said the model aimed to add capacity and prohibited applicants from intentionally inducing GPs within the region to leave their current clinics. Expressions of interest close on 14 September, with the clinics expected to operate between April and June 2027.

   via RACGP newsGP

3. 03

   DoHDA clarifies Prescriber Bag ordering after compliance concerns

   The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has developed guidance for prescribers following concerns about compliance with Prescriber Bag requirements. The concerns relate to the National Health Act 1953 and associated Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme arrangements. The guidance reinforces the intended purpose of Prescriber Bag arrangements, outlines appropriate ordering practices and describes prescribers’ professional responsibilities when ordering medicines through the scheme. The source gives limited detail about the identified concerns or specific ordering requirements.

   via RACGP newsGP

4. 04

   Tezspire meets phase 3 goals in eosinophilic oesophagitis

   Tezspire met all primary and secondary objectives in a phase 3 trial in eosinophilic oesophagitis, AstraZeneca and Amgen said. Treatment produced statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in disease markers, symptoms, activity and severity at 24 weeks, with effects sustained over one year. The companies did not disclose detailed results but plan to present them at a medical meeting and share them with regulators. Tezspire, a monoclonal antibody targeting TSLP, is already approved for severe asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis. Approval in eosinophilic oesophagitis would give the drug a third indication and place it in direct competition with Dupixent.

   via BioPharma Dive

5. 05

   Impella controller failures linked to three deaths, 37 serious injuries

   Johnson & Johnson has advised customers to remove automated Impella heart pump controllers from sites where they are used or sold after component failures were linked to three deaths and 37 serious injuries, according to an early FDA alert. J&J’s Abiomed business is replacing purge flag and purge retainer components within the controllers’ purge pressure sensor assemblies, while hospital inventory can remain in use pending service. The company said the recall addressed a purge cassette recognition issue identified in 0.2% of cases. J&J instructed customers to reinsert the purge disc if a purge flag component failure alarm occurs and, if the alarm persists, switch to a backup controller and arrange component replacement with Abiomed’s field service team.

   via MedTech Dive

6. 06

   RACGP Fellowship exams record pass rates above 80%

   More than 80% of candidates passed each of the latest RACGP Fellowship examinations held on 3 and 4 July. Among 1187 candidates who sat the 2026.2 Applied Knowledge Test, the mean score was 74.99% and the pass rate was 80.2%. The 1162 Key Feature Problem candidates recorded a mean score of 68.75% and a pass rate of 80.64%, broadly consistent with recent cycles. First-attempt candidates had the highest pass rates in both exams, at 85.9% for the AKT and 86.51% for the KFP. The next cycle is scheduled for 15 January for the 2027.1 AKT and 16 January for the 2027.1 KFP.

   via RACGP newsGP

MDDR is a news digest for medical professionals. It is not medical advice and should not be relied on for clinical decision-making.