Pharmac review doesn’t go far enough

Responding to today’s announcement from Government about its independent review into Pharmac, Evangelia Henderson, chief executive at Breast Cancer Foundation NZ, said: “We’re pleased the Government’s review will focus on health outcomes but unfortunately this doesn’t go far enough. Without an increased budget, we’ll still be lagging behind every other OECD country when it comes to accessing new drugs.

“We've been stuck with an outdated approach for far too long and it's now crucial Pharmac embraces medical innovation. We’ve seen that the Government can bring the Covid-19 vaccine to NZ quickly, the same must be the case for game-changing drugs that can save the lives of so many New Zealanders. This can only happen with more funding.

“It’s shameful that NZ women with advanced breast cancer are dying twice as fast as people in comparable countries because our patients can’t access drugs that are already available overseas. Treatments exist that can make incurable breast cancer something Kiwis live with rather than die from. We just need a model – and the funding necessary – to give our women this opportunity.”