Posted by Michael Wonder on 15 Aug 2019
A better way to fund medicines?
15 August 2019 - PHARMAC’s recent decision to fund two additional drugs from December this year has been widely welcomed by patients and the general public alike.
The drugs, Kadcyla and Alecensa, are used in the treatment of advanced lung and breast cancers and will prolong and improve the quality of life of many affected patients who have been unable to afford them before now. Both drugs have been the subject of high profile campaigns from patients and their advocates who have long felt that the system has been too insensitive and slow to act upon their concerns. Against that backdrop, this recent PHARMAC decision was seen as something of a watershed.
The process by which PHARMAC decides which medicines to fund is rigorous and thorough, for obvious reasons, but consequently it is also very slow.
