NZ Medicines Strategy Opportunities In Consultation Process
| “While patient groups, clinicians and the medicines industry can rightly be disappointed with the consultation document Towards a New Zealand Medicines Strategy the Hon Peter Dunne has nevertheless provided a consultation platform which will allow the issues surrounding access to and funding of medicines to be debated in the public arena over the next couple of months or so,” Dr Pippa MacKay, chair of the Researched Medicines Industry said. |
|
“The authors of the discussion document erroneously pre-judged the existing access to medicines and funding mechanisms to be working reasonably well. However, editorials and letters to the editor in influential newspapers, and coverage of a variety of supply and access issues, over the summer break show very clearly that these perceptions are wrong, and that the current system is flawed,” Pippa MacKay commented.
“The RMI believes the consultation process will generate a focus on the real issues. As the Otago Daily Times said in its mid-January editorial 'although the review taking place now does not particularly target the much-criticised centralised drug-buying agency PHARMAC, there can be little doubt that PHARMAC’s policies will come under scrutiny. They should be examined, publicly and closely, as indeed should the whole issue of the supply, cost and quality of medicines in New Zealand.'
“The RMI supports this view and urges all stakeholders to think through the issues and then respond to the consultation request.
“Of key importance is to demonstrate that New Zealanders simply do not have good access to medicines. We have a largely outdated, one-size-fits-all system where, for instance, our Australian cousins have new, modern, innovative medicines regularly listed by their PHARMAC equivalent.
“Over the last six years while 78 new innovative, prescription-only medicines were listed in Australia, only 20 of these were listed on the New Zealand schedule.
“In only one month we have had strong editorials, several ‘out of stock’ problems and speculation about a largely untried short course option for Herceptin. These very clearly demonstrate that there is something wrong with our access to and funding of medicines.
“The RMI believes a strong response to Peter Dunne’s consultation process will provide the extra impetus needed to achieve meaningful reforms to the system, and therefore we urge all stakeholders to make sure they put their concerns in writing and submit them to the consultation process,” she suggested.
This edition of RMI-Line shows how the Australian government has addressed the same issues we face here. And our next edition will examine PHARMAC’s Christmas present to people of New Zealand, a virtual ban on the funding of any new high tech, modern and clever medicines,” Dr MacKay said.
|
Aussies reject PHARMAC processes while assuring funding
for innovative new medicines in the future |
PHARMAC bosses have long skited that other countries
admire New Zealand's access to medicines and funding policies
and that many would like to adopt it. Well, Australia has
taken a close look and completely rejected it in its recent
reforms to its PBS, the equivalent to our PHARMAC processes.
And, the Australian Government has applied a bit of strategic
thinking to the increasing numbers of high tech, sophisticated
medicines, becoming available. The enormous cost of producing
these means they can be expensive as manufacturers seek
to recover the costs of R&D and bringing them to market.
The Australian reforms will free up some $580m over the
next four years and, as a result the PBS will be well positioned
to meet future demand for new and expensive medicines, and
patients will continue to have access to these medicines
at a price they can afford.
These savings will largely come from significant price reductions
for around 400 brands of generic medicines while barriers
to access to patented innovative medicines for long term
chronic conditions, such as diabetes and osteoporosis, will
be reduced.
"New Zealand could certainly remove some very substantial
barriers to access to medicines for needy patients, but
it has no options in the price cutting area as the PHARMAC
model now means that all funded medicines, patented, patent-expired
generics and OTCs, are amongst the cheapest in the world,"
RMI chair, Dr Pippa MacKay said.
"Over a year ago PHARMAC said it was addressing the issue
of high cost medicines, but for the first one to make an
application, the answer was that there is insufficient funding
for it.
"Now we hear that PHARMAC has no plans to change the way
it assesses high cost medicines and they will continue to
be assessed on the same basis as aspirin and panadol, effectively
ruling out any chance of many new and innovative medicines
becoming available for New Zealanders in the future," she
said. |
 |
|
Eight
NEW medicines, not 17 as claimed
|
|
The PHARMAC 2005/06 annual report proudly lists
17 new listings, but what it doesn't say is that a number of these aren't new medicines.
There are really only EIGHT new listings as we need
to remove:
|
| • |
Three forms of risperidone, as they are only new
presentations of an already funded drug
|
| • |
Oral feed with fibre, as this is a "special food"
and not a drug at all
|
| • |
Aspirin, as this is a new presentation of an already funded chemical which has been around for 100 years or more
|
| • |
Ezetimibe with simvastatin, as this is a new combination
of two separate but already funded products
|
| • |
Brimonidine with timolol, as this also is just a
new combination of already funded products
|
| • |
Ferrous fumarate, as this is just a different iron salt,
and other iron preparations are already funded
|
| • |
Dapsone, as this is an old product which was discontinued
and its replacement was only recently registered
by Medsafe.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Australia
New Zealand Therapeutic Products Agency
The Researched Medicines Industry Association (RMI) has welcomed
the legislation to establish a trans-Tasman authority for the
regulation of therapeutic products.
"As equal partners, Australia and New Zealand, can
provide sufficient critical mass to ensure world-class evaluation,
control and audit functions and, most importantly, New Zealanders
will be assured that all therapeutic products will be safe,
effective and of the highest quality," the chair of the RMI,
Dr Pippa MacKay said.
"We congratulate the Government on this far-sighted move.
"The economies of scale and the logic of sharing resources will
also mean that regulatory approval for prescription medicines
will be much quicker than the current three years it takes in
New Zealand. New medicines will therefore become far more quickly
available for consideration by PHARMAC for funding.
|
 |
 |
 |
|
399 medicines in development offer hope for cancer treatment
There are few things that cause patients more fear and uncertainty
as a diagnosis of cancer. Yet today, because of a steady stream
of new and improved medicines and treatments, cancer can increasingly
be managed, and even beaten.
Pharmaceutical company researchers are working on 399 medicines
for cancer. Some are hi-tech weapons that fight the disease
in new ways, while others involve research on new ways to use
existing medicines. The medicines in development are all in
either clinical trials or under US FDA review. They include;
62 for lung cancer, 49 for breast cancer, 35 for colon cancer
and 50 for prostate cancer. Additional medicines target cancers
of the kidney, pancreas, brain, skin and ovaries.
And, companies are working on medicines to improve the quality
of life for people undergoing cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy.
|
|
|
