11 November 2016 - PHARMAC is pleased to announce the approval of an agreement with Sanofi-Aventis for the listing of alglucosidase alfa (Myozyme), idursulfase (Elaprase), and laronidase (Aldurazyme) for rare enzyme deficiency disorders.

The agreement is the sixth that PHARMAC has reached with a bidder in a Request for Proposals we ran in 2014, related to the supply of medicines for rare disorders. This was the subject of a consultation letter dated 17 October 2016.

In summary, the effect of the decision is that the following three enzyme replacement therapies will be funded in the community under Special Authority criteria and in DHB hospitals, subject to restrictions, for the following indications and listing dates:

• alglucosidase alfa (Myozyme) for patients with infantile Pompe disease, from 1 December 2016;
  
• idursulfase (Elaprase) for patients with Hunter syndrome receiving a haematopoietic stem cell transplant, from 1 December 2016, and
  
• laronidase (Aldurazyme) for patients with Hurler syndrome receiving a haematopoietic stem cell transplant. Listing in the Pharmaceutical Schedule would occur following Medsafe approval of the pharmaceutical.
  

Read PHARMAC press release