Decision to award vildagliptin supply
What we’re doing
We're pleased to announce amendments to the price and contractual arrangements with Novartis for vildagliptin (Galvus) and vildagliptin with metformin (Galvumet) from 1 February 2021. These treatments are already, and would continue to be, funded without restrictions.
Any changes to the original proposal?
This decision was subject to a consultation letter dated 9 September 2020. Following consultation the implementation date has been changed from 1 December 2020 to 1 February 2021. No other material changes have been made regarding the funding of vildagliptin and vildagliptin with metformin following consultation.
Read the 9 September 2020 consultation letter
We have already notified our decision relating to the other two medicines for type 2 diabetes included in the consultation.
Read the decision to fund two new medicines for type 2 diabetes
Who we think will be most interested
As this decision will result in a change in price and sole supply contractual arrangements, but no changes to fully funded access, we consider those most interested will be:
- Community and hospital pharmacists
- Pharmaceutical suppliers and wholesalers
Detail about this decision
The following changes will occur in Section B and Part II of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 February 2021. The price and subsidy of Novartis’ brand of vildagliptin and vildagliptin with metformin in the Alimentary Tract and Metabolism group in Section B and in Part II of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule will reduce as follows:
| Chemical and presentation | Brand | Pack size | Current subsidy and price (ex-man., ex. Gst) | New subsidy and price (ex-man., ex. Gst) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Vildagliptin tab 50 mg |
Galvus |
60 |
$40.00 |
$35.00 |
|
Vildagliptin with metformin hydrochloride tab 50 mg with 850 mg metformin hydrochloride |
Galvumet |
60 |
$40.00 |
$35.00 |
|
Vildagliptin with metformin hydrochloride tab 50 mg with 1,000 mg metformin hydrochloride |
Galvumet |
60 |
$40.00 |
$35.00 |
Novartis’ brand will have sole supply for DPP-4 inhibitors for all new patients from 1 February 2021, until at least 30 June 2024.
Our response to what you told us
We’re really grateful for the time people took to respond to this consultation. Most of the feedback we received was about the proposal to fund two new medicines for type 2 diabetes. The feedback received which directly applies to the continued supply of vildagliptin is summarised in the below table.
Read the feedback for the 2 new medicines
|
Theme |
PHARMAC Response |
|---|---|
|
One respondent considered the timing for the price reduction for vildagliptin and vildagliptin with metformin should be aligned with the approach for annual tender price changes in to support the supply chain. |
PHARMAC expects suppliers to support a change in price in the supply chain from the 12th of the month prior to a change in the Pharmaceutical Schedule. How this is done is at the discretion of the supplier. |
|
One respondent called to reduce funding for less effective medicines (eg. other T2DM medicines, including vildagliptin), and to restrict access to insulin in order to enable open access to SGLT-2 inhibitor and GLP-1 agonist. |
A change to the funding arrangements for other medicines on the Pharmaceutical Schedule is not in the scope of this proposal. We seek the advice of our clinical advisors on ongoing maintenance of the listings in the Schedule. |
If you have any questions about this decision, you can email us at enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz; or call our toll free number (9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday) on 0800 660 050.