Pharmac has today published the latest record of advice
from its Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee
(PTAC) and, for the first time, has published a summary of
how Pharmac has assessed Trikafta.
“Trikafta is a
medicine we would like to fund, we have two proposals for it
on our Options for Investment (OFI) list for two different
age groups, one for those 6 years and over and one for those
12 years and over,” says director of operations Lisa
Williams. “We now have recommendations from both our
Respiratory Advisory Committee and from PTAC that the
medicine should be funded for people 6 years and
over.”
“Since Trikafta was last considered by PTAC
in November 2021 Pharmac has received more evidence from the
supplier, Vertex, as well as information from consumer
groups and healthcare practitioners. In April the
Respiratory Advisory Committee reviewed the evidence and
information and reiterated its recommendation to fund
Trikafta for people 6 years and over with high priority. The
Respiratory Advisory Committee also addressed some of
PTAC’s concerns about the lack of longer-term evidence for
the use of Trikafta in people aged less than 12 years. PTAC
previously deferred making a recommendation for people 6
years and over but, following consideration of the new
evidence and information in May 2022, has now recommended
funding for them with medium priority.”
“Pharmac
uses the recommendations from our clinical experts and
evidence provided by the supplier and other interested
people and groups to feed into our assessment and our work
to determine where the application is ranked against other
medicines.”
“Today we’re also releasing our Technology
Assessment Report (TAR) for Trikafta. This is our health
economic analysis, used to determine the cost-effectiveness
of a medicine. We have published the Trikafta TAR as part of
our goal to increase transparency so that people who are
interested can see all the information we have considered.
To support the public’s understanding of Pharmac’s full
assessment of Trikafta, we have also created a summary to
explain how we have considered the medicine using our
Factors for Consideration.”
“Our assessment is
that, if Trikafta were funded, there would be some savings
to the health system through the reduction of the need for
hospitalisations, lung transplants and supportive care. We
also estimate that Trikafta could give people with cystic
fibrosis who are aged 6 and over a longer and improved
quality of life – specifically benefits equivalent to 27
more years at full health when compared to current funded
treatments.”
“We don’t just look at how much, in
dollar terms, a medicine costs, we also consider the health
benefits to the person taking the medicine and what the
benefits would be to the healthcare system. We know that
there are also benefits from funding Trikafta that are not
identified in our TAR, such as the health benefits for
whānau and caregivers of people with cystic fibrosis. We
consider these matters by using all our Factors for
Consideration when we assess and prioritise medicines for
funding,” says Ms Williams.
“It is very important
we hear and listen to the voices of people directly affected
when assessing a medicine like Trikafta. Hearing from them,
alongside clinical evidence, helps us to understand the
impact funding Trikafta would have. As we’ve seen with the
positive recommendation from PTAC, it is encouraging and
reinforces that it continues to be a medicine we want to
fund.”
Pharmac has already re-ranked Trikafta on its
OFI list having considered the updated advice from its
clinical experts and is continuing commercial discussions
with the supplier to try to reach an agreement that would
enable the funding of Trikafta.
“Currently, there
are 118 proposals on our OFI list for 75 different
treatments, all of which would benefit New Zealanders if
funded. Pharmac operates on a fixed budget, so we need to
make difficult decisions about how to spend any available
funding. This is why using our Factors for Consideration to
rank and compare treatments on our OFI list is incredibly
important. The Government announced a significant budget
uplift to the pharmaceutical budget for this year and next,
so we’re doing our very best to fund as many items on the
OFI list that we can,” concludes Ms Williams.
Learn
more
Pharmac processes and
documents:
Trikafta
is the brand name for this medicine. The medicine is a
combination of three different chemicals: elexacaftor,
texacaftor, and
ivacaftor.
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