Hope and uncertainty among patients as Cabinet considers boosting Pharmac funding

News that Pharmac is set to benefit from a major funding boost has renewed hope – but also uncertainty – among thousands of patients awaiting life-saving drugs.

RNZ understands Cabinet will decide on Monday whether to invest more money into the drug purchasing agency.

It follows a backlash following the government’s failure to honor National’s pre-election promise to fund 13 specific cancer drugs in the budget.

Patient Voice Aotearoa spokesperson Malcolm Mulholland said it made sense to give Pharmac an overall increase in funding rather than tying the money to specific drugs.

It’s not just cancer patients who will benefit, he said.

“So what happens now is that Pharmac will go down the list of investment options until it covers these 13.

“This means that it is not just these drugs that will be funded, but also other cancer drugs, as well as drugs to treat people with chronic diseases or rare disorders.

“So this is a real game changer.”

The standard price of the approximately 90 drugs on Pharmac’s “current investment priority list” has been estimated at around $400 million, Mulholland said.

However, Pharmac typically began negotiations with a half-price discount and “negotiated down from there.”

“The highest price to eliminate the drug waiting list would be around $200 million, which is why we are reasonably confident that $150 million (per year) will significantly reduce Pharmac’s waiting list .”

Investing in medicine would also save taxpayers money by extending the lives of some people and allowing others to live fully, he said.

“Patients are rejoicing and hoping like crazy that their medicine will be financed thanks to the increased funding. It’s just good news all round.”

However, Cancer Society chief executive Dr Rachael Hart said the Government needed to make it clear to cancer patients whether this cash injection would deliver on their promises.

“The challenge is that the government has made a particular promise about prioritizing investment in oncology drugs with significant clinical benefit.

“So while it makes sense as a model, what we still expect from the government and what we will look to see when the announcement is made is how are they going to close the gap in cancer drugs?

The rumored figure of $600 million over four years wouldn’t be enough to fund all the drugs on Pharmac’s wish list, Hart said.

The other big unknown was when funding could be provided.

“One of the things we wouldn’t want to see is that money being taken away from other areas of the health care system, which are already struggling.”