Pharmac Simplifies Access To A Medicine For The Rare Disorder, Wilson Disease

Pharmac – Te Pātaka Whaioranga is making it easier for
people with Wilson disease to get the medicine they
need.

From 1 May, trientine will be listed on the
Pharmaceutical Schedule. At the moment people access it
through one of Pharmac’s exceptional circumstances
pathways, specifically the

Named
Patient Pharmaceutical Assessment (NPPA)
pathway.

“We want to make it easier for people
to get access to the medicines they need where we can,”
says Adrienne Martin, Pharmac’s Manager Pharmaceutical
Funding.

“Shifting access to trientene from our
exceptional circumstances pathway to the Pharmaceutical
Schedule means people and prescribers will have clarity on
who its funded for and simplifies how people get it. It will
also mean their approvals for funding will be life-long.
This might seem like a small thing to change but we know
it’ll help the people taking and prescribing this
medicine.”

Pharmac’s Rare Disorders Advisory
Committee have provided advice on eligibility criteria for
trientene for the small group of people who have Wilson
disease, so the medicine can be listed on the Pharmaceutical
Schedule.

Wilson disease is a rare, inherited
condition that causes a build-up of copper in a person’s
body. This build-up in the liver and other organs causes
fatigue and abdominal pain, and the person may eventually
require a liver transplant. The medicine, trientine helps
remove copper from the body.

Under the exceptional
circumstances pathway, prescribers apply for trientine on
behalf of their patients, specifying how the person’s
circumstances meet the

NPPA
Policy principles

. This takes time for
prescribers and time for Pharmac to assess. Funding
trientine through the Pharmaceutical Schedule removes these
delays in accessing treatment.

Pharmac has not
previously had a contract with a supplier for this medicine.
Trientine was included in an Annual Tender process, which
involves suppliers bidding to be the main contracted
suppliers of various funded medicines. Having a contracted
trientene product means it can be made available through the
Pharmaceutical Schedule so pharmacies and people who need it
will have certainty of supply.

“This change is going
to reduce the load on prescribers and the stress on people
with Wilson disease and their whānau, as the whole process
will be more straightforward to deal with,” says
Martin.

A very small number of people currently
accessing trientine through NPPA will need to change brands.
We will be in touch with their prescribers directly, to make
sure they have the support needed to help with the
change.

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