On Monday 4th August the Novartis pharmaceuticals, sponsor of Xolair, (a brand of omalizumab) changed the presentation of the medicine from a pre-filled syringe to an auto-pen.  Unfortunately, this change has apparently not been well reflected in the PBS online system, which has problems for pharmacies to fulfill existing prescriptions, and difficulties for your doctors to prescribe new and continuation scripts.

We hope that this situation is rapidly remedied through the liaison of Novartis and the PBS.

If you need to get a script filled, please check with your pharmacist about the current situation.

There is also a different brand of omalizumab, trade name “Omlyclo” which is given as a prefilled syringe, and this brand may be available from pharmacies as an alternative to the new Xolair auto-pen.

We will help as much as possible, but please be aware that due to the issues with the PBS online system, delays for prescriptions may be expected until this is resolved.  Thank you.