The Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition says a new report which shows how little New Zealand spends on medicines is a wake-up call which should lead to a review of funding for pharmaceuticals.
The report from Medicines New Zealand shows that New Zealand ranks 31st out of 32 nations in the amount it spends on pharmaceuticals as a proportion of GDP. Only Mexico spends less on medicines than New Zealand.
BCAC is even more concerned at statistics which show that New Zealand is very slow to take up new medicines. The Medicines New Zealand report indicates that on average New Zealanders will get access to new medicines some three-and-a-half years after their counterparts in Australia.
BCAC chair, Libby Burgess, says that’s unacceptable.
“New Zealand’s paltry spending on medicines could be partly responsible for this country’s higher mortality rate from diseases such as breast cancer when compared with Australia and other nations.
“It’s very concerning that new medicines are so slow to be funded for use here once they’ve been approved and registered here as safe and effective by MedSafe. Medical research is moving apace and there are more and more innovative drugs coming on stream to treat diseases like breast cancer. It’s imperative that New Zealand women have access to these drugs because they can literally save lives,” Ms Burgess says.
BCAC says it is interesting to note that the budget for the Government’s drug-buying agency PHARMAC has barely grown in the past four years, while the overall health budget has continued to rise.
“BCAC really believes there needs to be an increased focus on medicines funding because these drugs deliver better health and survival to our people and this ultimately saves money for the health system as a whole.”
Ms Burgess highlights the new breast cancer drugs, Kadcyla and Perjeta, which were recently fast-tracked for approval by the FDA for use in the US and are used to treat women with HER-2 Positive late-stage breast cancer. She says both drugs have proven to be very effective. Medsafe registered Perjeta for New Zealand use last week and Kadcyla is likely to follow very soon.
“We really hope that PHARMAC will see the strong evidence to support the value and effectiveness of thes medicines and funds them soon for New Zealand women.
BCAC plans to raise the issue of funding and access to medicines with the Minister of Health when it meets with him later in the year.
