15 March 2024 - Pharmac has decided to keep Rule 8.1b, which allows medicines for treating children with cancer to be automatically funded without Pharmac assessment.

“We’ve heard very clearly from clinicians and the whānau of child and adolescent cancer patients that Rule 8.1b has a real impact on treatment and health outcomes,” says Dr David Hughes, Pharmac’s Chief Medical Officer and Director of Advice and Assessment.

Read PHARMAC press release