Posted by Michael Wonder on 08 Aug 2019
PHARMAC cancer model must be reworked, specialists warn
8 August 2019 - Two cancer drugs funded by PHARMAC are a welcomed surprise but the model needs to be faster and better funded as NZ lags behind other OECD countries, specialists say.
Under the proposal posted on PHARMAC's website late yesterday, three new treatments will be funded from 1 December: lung cancer pills Alecitnib, breast cancer treatment Kadcyla, and relapsing remitting MS drug Ocrevus.
Sufferers and supporters - many of whom have been campaigning for the drugs for years - have been celebrating the decision, but specialists say it is really just business as usual for PHARMAC and the funding comes too late for many.
Some have died, while others have mortgaged their homes or spent their savings to get access to the drugs.
PHARMAC had declined to be interviewed.
