2014/15 invitation to tender (suppliers)

• A proposal to tender certain pharmaceuticals for sole supply;
• The draft process and terms and conditions for the 2014/15 Invitation to Tender (2014/15 Tender); and
• Commercial proposals as an alternative to tendering.

PHARMAC welcomes all feedback on the draft 2014/15 Tender. Feedback received by the deadline may be considered by the Tender Medical Evaluation Subcommittee of PTAC and would be considered by the PHARMAC Board (or its Delegate, where applicable) prior to making a decision on this proposal.

Feedback should be submitted by the following dates; late feedback may not be considered:

Feedback should be provided by submitting an email, fax or letter to the Tender Analysts:

Feedback we receive is subject to the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) and we will consider any request to have information withheld in accordance with our obligations under the OIA. Anyone providing feedback, whether on their own account or on behalf of an organisation, and whether in a personal or professional capacity, should be aware that the content of their feedback and their identity may need to be disclosed in response to an OIA request.

We are not able to treat any part of your feedback as confidential unless you specifically request that we do, and then only to the extent permissible under the OIA and other relevant laws and requirements. If you would like us to withhold any commercially sensitive, confidential proprietary, or personal information included in your submission, please clearly state this in your submission and identify the relevant sections of your submission that you would like it withheld. PHARMAC will give due consideration to any such request.

Details of the proposed 2014/15 Tender

In general, the proposed 2014/15 Tender process would be similar to the 2013/14 Tender. In addition to Alternative Commercial Proposals (discussed below), we seek comments on all sections of the draft 2014/15 Tender, in particular on:

• The proposed changes to the 2014/15 Tender;
• An indication of any pharmaceuticals, whether or not they are included in Schedule Two of the draft 2014/15 Tender, that you consider should be tendered, and the reasons for that view. If you wish, you may provide a non-binding confidential indication of the price or price range that you might be able to offer for a line item or group of line items you wish to have tendered;
• An indication of any pharmaceuticals, whether or not they are included in Schedule Two of the draft 2014/15 Tender, that you consider would be inappropriate to tender, and the reasons for that view, including any contractual constraints or patent protection that could restrict PHARMAC from awarding a tender on a particular pharmaceutical;
• For Hospital Pharmaceuticals, feedback on the appropriate Discretionary Variance Limit for each pharmaceutical, in the event that a 1% Discretionary Variance Limit is not considered clinically acceptable; and
• Feedback on any unresolved Tender Bid(s) from previous tenders that you consider should remain open for acceptance. Please note that some currently unresolved Tender Bids may be resolved prior to the consultation deadline and the final Tender being issued.

Draft Invitation to Tender

We are seeking feedback on the composition of the draft 2014/15 Tender. This is still under development and may change before it is taken to the Board for approval and subsequently issued. At this stage, but depending on the extent of any changes, PHARMAC does not intend to send out further drafts for consultation.

A complete copy of the draft 2014/15 Tender, including the proposed terms and conditions which successful tender bids would be subject to, is available on our website (www.pharmac.health.nz). The draft 2014/15 Tender comprises the following sections:

* * In reference to the 2014/2015 Tender, specifically the interpretation of it, please also refer to “Medical Devices-IV infusion bags” on page 8 of this consultation document.

*The market data for the year ended 30 June 2014 provided in Schedule Two has not yet been finalised and currently consists of actual volumes as available at production; however, finalised data would be included in the final 2014/15 Tender. The figures included are indicative only and are provided on the basis set out in clause 1.3 of Schedule 2 of the draft 2014/15 Tender.

^# The final list of products, which may change following consultation, would be released as part of the 2014/15 Tender, following Board approval. You may provide feedback on the inclusion of any additional pharmaceuticals after the 2014/15 Tender has been issued, and any such feedback would be considered by the Board (or its Delegate under Delegated Authority) before making a final decision on any product, provided that any feedback is given prior to the tender close date in late 2014.

Key Dates and Timeframes for the 2014/15 Tender:

The timelines for the 2014/15 Tender are envisaged to be similar to the 2013/14 Tender; we propose to release the final 2014/15 Invitation to Tender in early November 2014 and consequently the closing date for tender submissions would be late December 2014. The proposed timeline is outlined in the following table:

Unresolved Tender Bids

We intend to review any unresolved Tender Bids from the 2012/13 Tender and the 2013/14 Tender prior to issuing the 2014/15 Tender. The following Tender Bids remain unresolved:

2012/13 Invitation to Tender

2013/14 Invitation to Tender

Should any unresolved Tender Bids be declined prior to the release of the 2014/15 Tender, PHARMAC would consider re-tendering those pharmaceuticals when the 2014/15 Tender is issued. Unresolved Tender Bids have not been included in the draft pharmaceutical list (Schedule Two).

Products not currently listed in Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule

The following products included in Schedule Two of the draft 2014/15 Tender are not currently listed in Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule:

Electronic Tender (eTender) system

The 2014/15 Invitation to Tender will be distributed via PHARMAC’s eTender system. Please let us know by 5pm, 26 September 2014 if the contact details for the person responsible for submitting tender bids have changed for your company or if you would like to register your company to use the eTender system.

Alternative Commercial Proposals

PHARMAC seeks any Alternative Commercial Proposals (ACPs) to tendering that you may wish to submit. An ACP may, for example, offer price reductions on one set of pharmaceuticals in return for PHARMAC agreeing to defer tendering on another group of pharmaceuticals for a period.

Please note the following points apply to ACPs for both the community and DHB hospital markets:

• ACPs may include more than one line item and may include pharmaceuticals not listed in Schedule Two of the draft 2014/15 Tender;
• ACPs may seek PHARMAC’s agreement to defer tendering or application of reference pricing for a period of time for any pharmaceutical, whether or not it is listed in Schedule Two of the draft 2014/15 Tender;
• ACPs may propose PHARMAC awarding Hospital Supply Status for Hospital Pharmaceuticals included in Schedule Two but not for Hospital Pharmaceuticals that do not appear in Schedule Two;
• ACPs may not propose awarding Sole Subsidised Supply Status in the community;
• PHARMAC reserves the right:
  • not to accept any ACPs; and/or
  • not to provide reasons for the acceptance or non-acceptance of any ACP; and/or
  • to enter into an agreement or arrangement that differs in a material respect from that envisaged in this letter; and

ACPs are due by 5pm, Thursday 28 August 2014. PHARMAC may not consider any ACPs that are submitted after this date.

Usage data for “PCT only” injectable products

This year we will be providing “PCT only” usage data prior to the release of the final 2014/15 Tender (as shown below). These volumes are approximate and indicative only. PHARMAC makes no representation as to the accuracy of these figures or as to the level of sales or likely sales of any tender item.

Ambrisentan and Bosentan

Due to the nature of these chemicals, longer transition times may apply to ambrisentan 5 mg and 10 mg tablets, and bosentan 62.5 mg and 125 mg tablets.

Medical Devices-IV infusion bags

PHARMAC has included a variety of IV infusion bags in the draft 2014/15 Tender. PHARMAC note that IV infusion bags can be classified as a medical device and therefore may not be accurately defined in the terminology of the 2014/15 Tender, for example but not limited to the definitions of Chemical Entity, Pharmaceutical and Tender Item. For the purposes of interpretation where terminology in the 2014/2015 Tender is inconsistent for IV infusion bags, the terminology shall be interpreted to include IV infusion bags unless the context otherwise requires.