14 December 2018 - PHARMAC is pleased to announce a decision on how three hospital medicines (infliximab, tocilizumab and rituximab) are managed within the Pharmaceutical Schedule.

This decision was subject to a consultation letter dated 6 September 2018. Some changes were made to the proposal as a result of feedback that we received:

• Minor changes to the renewal criteria for infliximab for inflammatory bowel disease have been made to allow existing patients to continue on their current treatment plans.
  
• The initial application criteria for infliximab for ocular inflammation have been amended to better align with current treatment practices in paediatrics.
  
• The criteria for pulmonary sarcoidosis and neurosarcoidosis have been updated to include diagnosis by a multidisciplinary team.
  

Read PHARMAC notification