Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, I stand by what Senator Hanson said. Regarding your comment that 'the PBS is an incredibly significant instrument', I agree; we agree. It's significant for people who are using the drugs, and it's highly significant for the people who are making the drugs. In COVID, we had $18 billion transferred from we the people to big pharma, for a drug that was approved provisionally by the TGA, with no testing in this country. Professor Skerritt confirmed that for me in Senate estimates. He said he relied upon the FDA in America. The FDA had previously said that they relied entirely on Pfizer and didn't undertake their own testing. So, we're transferring vast amounts of money—billions of dollars—to big pharma, with no independent testing. So, I ask the question, is anyone on the TGA getting royalties from big pharma? In America, there are people at the National Institutes of Health who are getting royalties from big pharma, for drugs that taxpayers funded the research of, and then the approvers get the royalties. Is anyone from the TGA getting royalties from big pharma?