16 September 2021 - PHARMAC is widening funded access to tocilizumab, an immunosuppressive drug used mainly to treat arthritis, to treat moderate to severe cases of COVID-19, subject to access criteria from 1 October 2021. 

This means prescribers will not have to make applications to PHARMAC for tocilizumab to be funded for treatment of COVID-19 for each individual patient, as they have been doing up until now.

Read PHARMAC press release