Pharmac
John Zalcberg, Richard Vines: Kiwis denied life-saving drugs
NZ is lagging well behind even poor nations when it comes to funding advanced cancer drugs. Australian researcher Professor John Zalcberg and Richard Vines from Rare Cancers Australia founder are part… Audio
Pharmac defends position not to fund bowel cancer drug
Pharmac is defending its position to not fund a drug recommended to patients with late-stage bowel cancer who react severely to regular chemotherapy drugs.
Cancer doctors demand Pharmac fund last-chance drugs
Two terminally ill bowel cancer patients who cannot tolerate regular chemotherapy have been denied access by drug-buyer Pharmac to an alternative life-prolonging drug that's funded in Australia and… Audio
Chemo reaction costing lives
Cancer patients who have a rare adverse reaction to chemotherapy are having to pay for alternative treatment after Pharmac rejected their applications saying they didn't come under "exceptional… Audio
NZ doesn't have access to world's best medicines, doctor says
Pharmac says out of 35 medicines funded in Australia but not in NZ, only three provide real, meaningful benefits. Cancer Society's Medical Director Chris Jackson says every oncologist he has spoken to… Video, Audio
Man denied treatment for MS because he couldn't walk 500m
A man living with multiple sclerosis says Pharmac denied funding for his medication because he was unable to walk more than 500m - one of the criteria patients and advocates say needs to be… Audio
Pharmac funding of MS drugs "restrictive & cruel"
Multiple Sclerosis New Zealand says Pharmac is denying hundreds of patients essential medication by applying overly restrictive criteria, and even withdrawing funding for drugs if a person's condition… Audio
Pharmac accused of "two-tier" system
The Cancer Society says long review periods from Pharmac are creating a two-tiered health system when it comes to accessing some types of medicine. John Forman, who chaired the New Zealand… Audio
NZ behind in funding modern medicine – Aus oncologist
Visiting Australian oncologist John Zalcberg says New Zealand cancer patients are missing out on access to new medicines, available in other countries, because Pharmac won't fund them. Video, Audio
NZ cancer drug funding the 'survival of the richest'
Cancer Society's Medical Director Chris Jackson has called the way some of his patients can afford better cancer drugs than others "survival of the richest", while oncologists throughout NZ call on… Video, Audio
Professor Ed Gane and Wendy Overy discuss Hepatitis C cure
There's been some good news for the around 50,000 New Zealanders who have Hepatitis C. A drug capable of curing the disease, Maviret, will be fully funded by Pharmac and be available from October… Audio
Will HIV-prevention drug halt record transmissions?
This week, New Zealand will become one of the first countries in the world to publicly fund the HIV-prevention drug, Pre-Exposure Propylaxis (PrEP). It's part of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation's… Audio
Pharmac to fund Truvuda for 4000 people
The Aids Foundation says wider access to the key drug Truvada is a game-changer that could slash rising HIV infection rates. Audio
Medical trial reveals Herceptin survival rate
Women taking the breast cancer drug Herceptin have similar survival rates regardless of whether they take it for nine weeks or a year, a study has revealed.
Herceptin study: 'Shorter therapy just as good'
A new study has revealed that women taking the expensive anti cancer drug, Herceptin, have similar survival rates regardless of whether they take it for nine weeks or a year. In 2007 Pharmac was… Audio
Herceptin trial shows 9 weeks as good as a year
A medical trial has shown Pharmac was right when it made a controversial decision to fund the breast cancer drug Herceptin for just nine weeks of treatment. The former National government overturned… Audio
Herceptin study involving NZ women reveals survival rates
Survival rates for women taking Herceptin for breast cancer are similar whether they take a short or long course of treatment on the drug. That's the result of a long-awaited study involving New… Audio
Pharmac replenishes in-demand HPV vaccine
Drug buyer Pharmac is reassuring the public that supplies of the Gardasil vaccine will be replenished today.
NZ drugs prices lowest in study of 10 countries
A new study shows that the prices New Zealand pays for medicines are among the lowest in the world.
'Win-win' as Pharmac drops restrictions on HIV medication
Pharmac is ditching a policy that required New Zealanders diagnosed with HIV to reach a threshold of illness before receiving treatment.