Posted: 1 December 2025
Akesa has launched the Aksys platform as a digital solution designed to simplify how Australian hospitals access non-Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) reimbursed prescription medicines. The platform is positioned as a major advancement in improving access to privately funded therapies for patients in clinical settings.
“The launch of Aksys marks a step change in how private-script patients access medicines in Australia. Together with pharmaceutical partners like Novartis, Aksys offers hospital institutions, and ultimately patients, enhanced access to medicines, while improving commercial viability and program scalability for manufacturers,” said Nicholas Brittain, Chief Operating Officer at Akesa.
Developed as a web-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) system, Aksys provides a single, compliant pathway for supplying non-PBS reimbursed medicines. Its introduction follows a steady rise in private prescriptions, which are estimated to comprise about 15% of the retail prescription market, with similar trends reported in hospital environments.
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Australia is confirmed as the first company to participate. “We are committed to improving access to our innovative medicines, and the launch of Novartis Connect and the Hospital Ordering Program (HOP) earlier this year is an important part of this journey. The HOP simplifies the ordering process for healthcare institutions, like hospitals, and provides direct access to our catalogue of medicines. It’s designed to be used for on-label and non-PBS dispensing through one simple-to-use platform. Partnering with Akesa has enabled a digital-first solution that simplifies the process and eases the administrative burden for hospital teams,” said Marco Muscardo, Ad-interim Country President, Novartis ANZ.
Aksys is designed to:
- Connect manufacturers directly with hospitals: replacing the need for individual arrangements with each of Australia’s 1,000+ public and private hospital institutions. The platform reduces administrative burden for both hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, while enabling reliable access to life-saving medicines.
- Streamline access to medicines: providing a single, end-to-end system for product ordering and fulfilment. This ensures private script medicines are more readily accessible and kept outside PBS claims, easing pressure on the publicly-funded system.
- Expand product portfolios: where traditional models are limited to high-cost medicines, Aksys enables pharmaceutical manufacturers to make a wider range of therapies available to support patient outcomes.
The platform is being rolled out across hospital sites throughout Australia and has already enabled the supply of life-saving therapies in more than 90 public hospitals.
