This week the coalition government made a significant investment in Pharmac, increasing funding by NZ$604 million over the next four years. In doing so, it delivered on a National Party election promise to fund 13 cancer drugs. Specifically, it will fund seven of those named during the election, while the remaining six will be replaced with “as good as or better alternatives”.
In total, this will fund up to 54 new drugs, including 26 cancer drugs. This announcement finally delivers hope to many cancer patients, profits to the pharmaceutical industry , and a sigh of relief for MPs who had been accused of breaking an election promise . It also reinforces the integrity of the Pharmac process, but it won’t change the fact that access to medicines in New Zealand lags behind other similar countries.
Pharmac is an independent agency that makes decisions about whether pharmaceuticals, vaccines and medical devices deliver value to the New Zealand taxpayer. But these value decisions have to be made within the budget Pharmac is allocated each year. Pharmac was one of the first health technology assessment agencies.
It is internationally held in high regard for the low prices it can negotiate, in part because it manages its own budget. If Pharmac thinks a drug or device is cost-effective but can’t currently afford it, it puts it on an options for investment list . This is essentially a waiting list that Pharmac will get to if it finds cost savings elsewhere when negotiating price.
