Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour, and Health Minister Simeon Brown welcome Pharmac’s decision to fund or widen access to three treatments, including for skin cancer, from 1 June 2025.
“Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the government,” Mr Seymour says.
“Today represents another step forward for cancer patients as the $604 million uplift from the government continues to facilitate access to new treatments.
“Pharmac continues to show what it is capable of when given the support it needs.
Pharmac has made decisions to:
- Widen access to pembrolizumab (branded as Keytruda)
- Fund dabrafenib (branded as Tafinlar) and trametinib (branded as Mekinist) for the first time. Dabrafenib and trametinib are used as a combination treatment.
“About 285 people with melanoma will benefit from these medicines, funded for people with stage 3B to 4 skin cancers, in the first year of funding,” Mr Seymour says.
“The early signs of Pharmac’s redirection remain positive, as expanding opportunities and access for patients and their families continue to be prioritised.
“Through consultation feedback, Pharmac heard of people experiencing side effects from receiving treatments with immune checkpoint inhibitors. This is due to funding more access and use of these medicines as part of the budget increase. As a result, Pharmac is widening access to infliximab and tocilizumab to treat side effects from having immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Mr Brown says delivering better and faster access to cancer care in New Zealand has been a focus of this Government, which is why it is one of our five key health targets.
“As Minister of Health, I am focused on ensuring better access to more cancer medicines, better cancer management driven by our faster cancer treatment target, and earlier detection of cancers through screening programmes,” Mr Brown says.
“One of the important reasons why Kiwis elected this Government was because they knew we could keep our promises to fund more cancer medicines. This announcement from Pharmac means more New Zealanders will get the care they need.
“Today is a good day for cancer patients. We campaigned on boosting Pharmac’s funding so that it could cover 13 additional cancer treatments, and from 1 June 2025, Pharmac will fund treatments for all those cancer types.”
“I’m pleased to see Pharmac’s responsiveness to the voices of patients and their families by expanding access to more medicines for more groups. This decision reflects our commitment to a more adaptable and patient-centered approach,” Mr Seymour says.