"This survey shows that the medicines industry's concerns about protecting the PBS and ensuring new medicines are made available quickly are shared by the Australian community," said Dr Brendan Shaw, Medicines Australia chief executive.
"When 86 per cent of people say that the PBS is a good use of taxpayers' money, this is a strong signal that the community supports the current scheme.
"That 80 per cent of people are concerned about reports of delays in listing new medicines on the PBS is a wakeup call.
"It proves that the concerns the industry has raised about the efficiency of the PBS listing process are shared by the Australian public.
"Australians are really concerned if they think they are missing out on new medicines for things like cancer, diabetes and rare diseases compared to other countries.
"A majority of Australians also believe that pharmaceutical R&D will improve the treatment of their condition in the future, which suggests that Australians value the $1 billion invested in R&D each year by the Australian medicines industry.
"Australians recognise the value of the PBS, the value of the medicines on it, and the value of the investment in developing these medicines."
