More New Zealanders will have access to medicines for blood cancers, bowel diseases, eczema and arthritis, following Pharmac’s decision to widen access to four medicines for six health conditions from 1 May.
The medicines and health conditions are:
- venetoclax (brand name Venclexta) in combination with azacitidine or cytarabine for the blood cancer acute myeloid leukaemia
- azacitidine (brand name Azacitidine Dr Reddy’s) for acute myeloid leukaemia
- ibrutinib (brand name Imbruvica) for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
- upadacitinib (brand name Rinvoq) for atopic dermatitis (eczema), ulcerative colitis, Crohn disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.
“We’re making these treatments available for more people. We estimate that 1,200 New Zealanders will benefit from widened access to these medicines in the first year of funding, with 5,070 people benefiting per year after five years,” said Pharmac’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr David Hughes.
“Widening access to these medicines will have a huge impact on the people who need them, but will also have benefits for the wider health system.”
Dr Hughes said widened access to upadacitinib will reduce the need for Health NZ infusion services, reducing infusion times by 4,000 hours in the first year of funding.
Pharmac have widened access to these medicines through a bundle agreement with the supplier, AbbVie.
“Our team have negotiated a great deal with AbbVie. Alongside making venetoclax and upadacitinib available to more New Zealanders at a reduced net price, our teams have also negotiated price reductions for two already funded medicines – a medicine used to treat Hepatitis C, and a medicine to treat inflammatory conditions,” said Dr Hughes.
“These savings enable us to maximise the use of our medicines budget to fund more treatments for New Zealanders.”
Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac, David Seymour and Health Minister, Simeon Brown welcomed today’s news.
“Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the government,” Mr Seymour says.
“Today represents another step forward for cancer patients as the $604 million uplift from the government continues to facilitate access to new treatments.
“Pharmac continues to show what it is capable of when given the support it needs. The early signs of Pharmac’s redirection remain positive, as expanding opportunities and access for patients and their families continue to be prioritised,” Mr Seymour says.
Mr Brown says delivering better and faster access to cancer care in New Zealand has been a focus of the Government.
“As Minister of Health, I am focused on ensuring better access to more cancer medicines, better cancer management driven by our faster cancer treatment target, and earlier detection of cancers through screening programmes,” he said.
“It is encouraging to see continued improvement in our efforts to provide faster cancer treatment, with more patients receiving their first treatment within 31 days in the first financial quarter than in the previous quarter and more cancer treatments available.”
“I’m pleased to see Pharmac’s responsiveness to the voices of patients and their families by expanding access to more medicines for more groups. This decision reflects our commitment to a more adaptable and patient-centered approach,” Mr Seymour says.
