Every week a drug company delays seeking approval for a new cancer medicine up to 156 patients will die, and Australian patients are waiting up to five months longer than the US and Europe.

A government report has blamed drug companies for delaying Australians access to breakthrough new cancer medicines and finds they wait 148 days longer to apply to list new medicine here in Australia than compared to the US or Europe.

For nervous system medicines the wait is even longer, up to 15 months and drug companies wait seven months longer to list heart disease medicines here than in the US or Europe.

The report strikes back at drug companies which have tried to blame the country’s regulators for delayed access to breakthrough drugs.

For more details, go to: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/the-real-reason-you-wait-for-life-saving-medicine/story-fneuzlbd-1227415124418