- Hon Simeon Brown
- Hon David Seymour
Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour, and Health Minister Simeon Brown welcome Pharmac's decision to fund access to five treatments, including for breast and lung cancer, from 1 December 2025.
Pharmac has made decisions to:
- Fund new, more convenient options for medicines already funded as IV (into a vein) infusions:
- Subcutaneous ocrelizumab (Ocrevus SC) for multiple sclerosis
- Subcutaneous pertuzumab with trastuzumab (Phesgo) for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer
- Fund two new medicines:
- Faricimab (Vabysmo) for diabetic macular oedema and wet age-related macular degeneration (eye conditions)
- Entrectinib (Rozlytrek) for ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer
- Fund ongoing access to:
- Bevacizumab (Avastin) for people with eye conditions
"Today's decisions show the culture we are building at Pharmac. Pharmac listened to what patients want. They funded medicines to make patients' lives easier, and reduce strain on the health system," Mr Seymour says.
"Subcutaneous pertuzumab with trastuzumab (Phesgo) will be the first cancer medicine available in private clinics. When Pharmac fund a new cancer treatment, people already paying for that treatment privately are forced to make a very difficult choice: spend their savings to continue private treatment undisrupted, or transfer to a public hospital. Patients told Pharmac the latter was hugely disruptive and caused significant stress during an immensely difficult period.
"The new subcutaneous injections are much quicker to administer than current IV treatments. They are expected to save an estimated 7,500 hospital infusion hours in year one, 12,800 by year five, and realise expected health system savings of $11 million over five years. This frees up money and health professionals to deliver other treatments. This is exactly what I expect Pharmac to consider.
"People told Pharmac that they wanted funded access for more people and the ability to administer these medicines in more settings. Pharmac heard that loud and clear. Pharmac removed the Health New Zealand hospital-only restriction for faricimab (Vabysmo) to give people better access. This is another great example of Pharmac listening to consumers. I expect to see more of this."
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 improving cancer management through our faster cancer treatment target, strengthening early detection through screening programmes, and ensuring Kiwis have better access to cancer medicines," Mr Brown says.
"One of the key reasons New Zealanders elected this Government was because they trusted us to fund more cancer medicines. That's why we delivered a $604 million uplift for Pharmac to deliver more lifesaving and life-extending treatments.
"Pharmac's announcement today is another important step for Kiwis with cancer and their families. More people will now be able to access the treatments they need, when they need them, helping them get the right care without delay and giving families greater peace of mind during an incredibly challenging time."
