Further funded relief for pain

Monday, 31 May 2010, 9:32 am | PHARMAC

PHARMAC will fund a further pain relief treatment option – tramadol 50mg capsules - from 1 June. More >>

First Alzheimer’s treatment to be funded

Thursday, 6 May 2010, 9:17 am | PHARMAC

People with Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia will have access to a funded medicine for the first time, following a decision by PHARMAC. More >>

Prescriptions rising but rate slowing

Tuesday, 8 December 2009, 11:19 am | PHARMAC

Prescriptions for government funded medicines increased by almost 4 percent last year to 36.3 million, but the rate of that growth is slowing, drug buying agency PHARMAC says. More >>

Newly-funded antidepressant to meet unmet need

Sunday, 1 November 2009, 5:56 pm | PHARMAC

Newly-funded antidepressant to meet unmet need – PHARMAC An antidepressant that will be funded from 1 November will help meet an unmet need for people with severe depression, says PHARMAC’s medical director Dr Peter Moodie. More >>

Health professionals’ role in brand changes

Friday, 30 October 2009, 10:00 am | PHARMAC

PHARMAC is acknowledging the role health professionals played in implementing medicine brand changes that affected a very large number of New Zealanders during 2008/09. Highlights from the year included: * Spending managed on budget at $653 million * ... More >>

PHARMAC looking to improve consumer participation

Tuesday, 13 October 2009, 12:02 pm | PHARMAC

Government medicine funder PHARMAC is asking for feedback on options for improving its consumer participation. More >>

Local heart day with soul

Monday, 12 October 2009, 3:57 pm | PHARMAC

Otara families can enjoy a morning of hearty fun while learning how to better care for their hearts at Pharmac’s One Heart Many Lives community heart health morning this coming Saturday. More >>

Local heart day with soul

Thursday, 1 October 2009, 5:10 pm | PHARMAC

Porirua families can enjoy a morning of hearty fun while learning how to better care for their hearts at Pharmac’s Local Heart Day this coming Saturday. Men enrolled at the Ora Toa Cannons Creek Medical Centre can also get free heart checks. Stilt ... More >>

New medicines, savings result from agreement

Thursday, 1 October 2009, 1:15 pm | PHARMAC

New funded treatments for HIV/AIDS and nausea, and a strengthened osteoporosis treatment have emerged from an agreement between PHARMAC and pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD). The agreement includes five medicines, including two that have not ... More >>

Heart drug deals to save $65 million

Monday, 7 September 2009, 10:23 am | PHARMAC

PHARMAC has completed agreements with two companies for the heart drug metoprolol that will realise $65 million of savings over the next five years.

Metoprolol, a beta-blocker, is used to treat raised blood pressure and heart failure. Until June this year it was only supplied by AstraZeneca as the Betaloc brand. It is currently used by about 200,000 people. More >>

Funding Will Bring Relief to Kiwi PAH Sufferers

Wednesday, 26 August 2009, 2:02 pm | PHARMAC

Auckland, 26 August 2009 – Tracleer (bosentan), a leading treatment for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), is now funded by PHARMAC. This will give New Zealanders suffering from this incurable disease a chance to improve both the quality and length ... More >>

New leukaemia treatment funded

Monday, 3 August 2009, 11:43 am | PHARMAC

PHARMAC is funding a new medication for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia, called dasatanib (Sprycel). Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is relatively rare with about 40 new cases diagnosed in New Zealand each year. The only cure is a stem-cell ... More >>

PHARMAC welcomes increase in pharmaceutical budget

Thursday, 30 July 2009, 3:55 pm | PHARMAC

Government drug funder PHARMAC is welcoming the increase in the pharmaceutical budget, which it says will help ensure people continue to have improving access to medicines. More >>

New treatment to overcome drug resistant hep B

Thursday, 23 July 2009, 2:17 pm | PHARMAC

PHARMAC is investing in a new medication to help overcome drug resistance for people with hepatitis B. From August 1, entecavir (Baraclude) will be funded under Special Authority as a first line treatment option for people with hepatitis B. More >>

Treatment funded to save patients and money

Tuesday, 30 June 2009, 2:52 pm | PHARMAC

Funding azithromycin for cystic fibrosis is great news for patients and will save the health sector money, says Government drug-funder PHARMAC. More >>

Cardiovascular disease gets funded treatment

Friday, 19 June 2009, 10:35 am | PHARMAC

People with a rare but disabling cardiovascular condition will have easier and more consistent access to three funded medicines following a decision by PHARMAC. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a very serious and often fatal condition affecting ... More >>

Greater access to life-extending lymphoma drug

Tuesday, 16 June 2009, 1:54 pm | PHARMAC

Treatment for a form of cancer is about to take a forward step with the widening of funded access to the in-hospital drug rituximab (Mabthera). More >>

New funding for anti-smoking drug

Monday, 1 June 2009, 11:12 am | PHARMAC

PHARMAC is marking Smokefree Day by announcing funding for the smoking cessation drug bupropion (Zyban) from 1st July 2009. More >>

How should PHARMAC’s Consumer Advisory work?

Monday, 4 May 2009, 9:32 am | PHARMAC

PHARMAC wants to tap into the expertise of consumers and other groups as the first step in a review of its Consumer Advisory Committee. The consumer committee, established in 2002, provides PHARMAC with input from a patient or consumer point of view. PHARMAC ... More >>

Māori children more likely to die from asthma

Wednesday, 15 April 2009, 10:24 am | PHARMAC

A new programme that gets underway in Taranaki this week has a potentially deadly illness in its sights – childhood asthma. More >>