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4 December 2022
Te Pātaka Whaioranga – Pharmac
has reached a provisional agreement with medicine supplier
Vertex to fund Trikafta.
“Following our budget
increase in May 2022 and commercial negotiations with the
supplier, Vertex, I am thrilled to announce today that we
are initiating consultation on the funding of Trikafta for
people aged 6 years and above with cystic fibrosis who meet
certain eligibility criteria,” says Pharmac’s director
of operations Lisa Williams.
“Trikafta has the
potential to make a substantial difference to the lives of
those people in New Zealand living with cystic fibrosis and
for their whānau and communities too. We estimate that, if
funded, Trikafta could give people with cystic fibrosis up
to 27 more years at full health, when compared with
supportive care. This would significantly reduce the impact
of the condition on people with cystic fibrosis, their
whānau and communities.
“We have been actively
working towards this step in the funding process since
receiving recommendations from both our Respiratory Advisory
Committee and from our Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Advisory Committee (PTAC) that the medicine should be
funded. Our expert advisors have told us that treatment with
Trikafta significantly improves lung function and other
symptoms of cystic fibrosis. The evidence is clear that
Trikafta can benefit people with cystic fibrosis, so we are
pleased to start consultation on a proposal to fund
it.
“I want to acknowledge the time that many people
have put into advocating for those living with cystic
fibrosis and to those who have shared their own very
personal stories with us. We have heard them all, and we
know there will be a lot of people thrilled to hear that we
are proposing to fund Trikafta.”
The consultation
is available on the Pharmac website for anyone wanting to
have their say.
“Consultation is a very important
step in our process,” says Ms Williams. “It’s how we
check that the people who will get the most benefit from the
medicines will be able to access them. If approved, we will
also be working closely with our colleagues across the
health sector to plan for the implementation of
Trikafta.”
“We have been saying that we wanted to
fund Trikafta – and now we are a step closer,” says Ms
Williams.
Funding of Trikafta is proposed to start 1
April
2023.
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