New Zealanders Miss Out On 142 Modern Medicines, Including Critical Cancer Treatments

New Zealanders are missing out on access to 142 modern medicines that are publicly funded in Australia. Critically 81% of these medicines are considered international standards of care, and 38% are oncology medicines, including therapies for blood cancers.

“These are not optional or experimental treatments, they are the recognised standard of care in comparable countries, patients in New Zealand are being denied access to life-saving and life extending medicines that are readily available to Australians.” Said Dr Graeme Jarvis, CEO of Medicines New Zealand.

Since 2011, Australia has publicly funded 215 modern medicines, two and a half times more than the 86 medicines publicly funded in New Zealand in the same period. This stark difference highlights a significant gap in medicines access between the two countries.

“Despite recent increases in funding, the gap in access to modern medicines between Australia and New Zealand is getting worse, additionally, New Zealanders are also waiting far longer than Australians to access a much smaller number of modern medicines.” Said Dr Jarvis.

The Access to Medicines (AtoM 5) report commissioned by Medicines New Zealand shows, Australia has funded 2.5 times as many new medicines since 2011, and New Zealand patients are waiting almost three years on average for public funding, nearly double the time faced by Australians.

Key findings:

• Australia funded 215 modern medicines, compared to just 86 in New Zealand, over the same period.
• Australians wait an average of 18 months (556 days) for public funding of new medicines, while New Zealanders face a significantly longer wait of nearly three years (1050 days).

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