Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

Pharmac Will Use Biggest Budget Increase Ever To Fund More Medicines For More New Zealanders

Pharmac welcomes the $191 million increase to its pharmaceutical budget over the next two years. It is already working its way through the medicines options for investment (OFI) list, looking at what agreements it can now make with pharmaceutical suppliers.

“This budget increase is the biggest we’ve had since we were formed almost 30 years ago,” says Pharmac’s Chief Executive Sarah Fitt. “We are getting an additional $71 million for 2022/2023 and then an additional $120 million for 2023/2024 - extra budget that means we can keep making more treatments available to more New Zealanders.”

With the budget increase confirmed, Pharmac is now talking with pharmaceutical suppliers about possible agreements for treatments on its options for investment list, including signalling that it will be releasing a request for proposals for immune checkpoint inhibitors for lung cancer treatment shortly.

“The funding increase now enables us to progress a request for proposals for immune checkpoint inhibitors for lung cancer. We had previously planned this for 2020 but had to postpone it due to the uncertainty of COVID’s impact at that time.”

“We are pleased to be able to progress this commercial process now, as Te Aho o Te Kahu’s recent report into the availability of cancer treatments reaffirms for us that lung cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Aotearoa. We also know that lung cancer is a condition that disproportionately affects Māori and Pacific peoples. Lung cancer incidence as a whole is more than three times higher in Māori compared with non-Māori and nearly two times higher in Pacific peoples compared with non-Māori, non-Pacific peoples.”

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Pharmac also started formal consultation processes today on proposals to fund medicines for conditions including breast cancer, blood cancer, multiple sclerosis, hormone replacement and HIV - medicines that could benefit many more New Zealanders.

“This is just the beginning; this budget increase will mean many more treatments being progressed for funding over the coming 12 to 24 months,” says Ms Fitt. “We will be working closely with our colleagues across the health sector to plan for the implementation of new treatments."

“With new and often expensive medicines being developed all the time, there will always be medicines we won’t be able to afford. We will, however, be using our expertise to ensure we can secure as many treatments as possible."

Today’s announcement means Pharmac’s budget for medicines is now $1.186 billion and next year will be $1.245 billion. In addition, Pharmac is also managing $300 million of COVID-19 response funding for COVID-19 treatments that was provided last year and $175 million for supply issues, caused by COVID-19.

© Scoop Media

 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.