Thousands of Australians are missing out on life-changing medicines because of delays in adding treatments to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, according to a new report.

Melbourne mum Jenna Mazore knows that reality all too well.

Living with the rare and incurable disease pulmonary arterial hypertension, Mazore says one drug already approved as safe in Australia could change and even save her life, but it’s still unavailable through the PBS.

Medicines Australia says just a quarter of new medicines launched globally over the past decade have been subsidised in Australia, compared with 88 per cent in the US and 46 per cent in Britain. The industry body argues that Australia has a lengthy and outdated approvals process that discourages pharmaceutical companies from bringing innovative treatments here, leaving patients waiting years for medicines already available overseas.

For Mazore, the issue is deeply personal. She says access to the drug would give her hope that she’ll be around to watch her six-year-old daughter grow up. Until then, she’s among thousands of Australians waiting for a decision she believes could change their future.