Consultation on the draft 2024/25 Invitation to Tender (for Industry)

Overview

Pharmac | Te Pātaka Whaioranga is seeking feedback from pharmaceutical suppliers, distributors, wholesalers, and other interested parties on the draft 2024/25 Invitation to Tender.

Consultation closes at 4 pm (New Zealand standard time) on Tuesday 3 September 2024

Submit feedback through our online form or email tender@pharmac.govt.nz

We are seeking feedback on the draft 2024/25 Invitation to Tender. The list of products proposed to be included in the 2024/25 Invitation to Tender is still under development and may change before it is taken to the Pharmac Board or its Delegate for approval and subsequently issued. In particular, we are seeking:

• feedback on the draft tender list and draft tender agreement (contract)
• commercial proposals as an alternative to including a product in the 2024/25 Invitation to Tender.

We are also seeking feedback from healthcare professionals and people who take medicines.

Health care professional consultation

Consumer consultation

Pharmac does not intend to send out further drafts for consultation at this stage. This is dependent on the feedback received to this consultation. Pharmac may choose to consult on specific medicines during the tender process.

Suppliers’ guide to Pharmac’s annual tender process

All documents for downloading

Key points to note for the 2024/25 Invitation to Tender

• The contract terms are substantively similar to the 2023/24 Invitation to Tender.
• We have made changes to the alternative commercial proposal (ACP) process. These include the provision of a guidance document, and an online form for submitting ACPs. More information on our update to the ACP process is below (see Alternative commercial proposals).
• Key points referred to in the ACP guidance are as follows:
  • Additional items included in ACPs must be listed on the Pharmaceutical Schedule or ranked on the Options for Investment(external link) or Cost Neutral list(external link).
  • ACPs may include more than one Pharmaceutical and may also include pharmaceuticals not listed in Schedule Two of the relevant draft ITT. Pharmac prefers proposals that include two to three additional pharmaceuticals. 
  • Where an alternative pricing structure is proposed, flat rebates (meaning a fixed rebate per unit) are preferred.

Additional Special Terms

We have included Additional Special Terms in the draft 2024/25 Invitation to Tender contract (Schedule 5) for intra-uterine devices [Non-hormonal] (IUDs). This clause would require that potential suppliers offer education, training, and support resources to safely use the supplier’s IUD product. This could include a description of the inserter and IUD materials and insertion instructions. 

Any feedback on these Additional Special Terms will help inform the final contract. 

New products

This year’s Invitation to Tender includes 23 tender items that have not previously been included in the tender or other competitive process. These tender items are as follows:

Tendered Item
Cladribine Tab 10 mg
Desogestrel Tab 75 mcg
Famotidine Inj 10 mg per ml, 2 ml
Fingolimod Cap 0.5 mg
Fulvestrant Inj 50 mg per ml, 5 ml
Gefitinib Tab 250 mg
Icatibant Inj 10 mg per ml, 3 ml prefilled syringe
Nilotinib Cap 150 mg Cap 200 mg
Nitisinone Cap 2 mg Cap 5 mg Cap 10 mg
Pancreatic enzyme Cap 420 mg
Perindopril arginine with amlodipine Tab perindopril arginine 10 mg with amlodipine 5 mg Tab perindopril arginine 5 mg with amlodipine 10 mg Tab perindopril arginine 5 mg with amlodipine 5 mg
Pirfenidone Cap 267 mg Tab 801 mg
Progesterone Cap 200 mg
Telmisartan with amlodipine Tab 40 mg with amlodipine 10 mg Tab 40 mg with amlodipine 5 mg Tab 80 mg with amlodipine 10 mg Tab 80 mg with amlodipine 5 mg

Key dates

Consultation on the 2024/25 Invitation to Tender

23 July 2024 – Consultation begins

27 August 2024 – Any alternative commercial proposals (ACPs) due

3 September 2024 – Consultation closes

September 2024 – Estimated negotiations for any ACPs being progressed

September 2024 –Tender Clinical Advisory Committee meets

September 2024 – ‘Practice’ Invitation to Tender issued

September/October 2024 – Estimated consultation on any ACPs being progressed

Release of the 2024/25 Invitation to Tender

Late October/Early November 2024 – Final Invitation to Tender issued

December 2024 – Invitation to Tender closes

February 2025 – Tender Clinical Advisory Committee meets

Unresolved tender bids from previous Invitations to Tender

See Appendix One below for all tenders from previous Invitations to Tender that are unlikely to be resolved before the end of July 2024.

We intend to resolve any unresolved tenders from the 2022/23, and 2023/24 Invitations to Tender prior to issuing the final 2024/25 Invitation to Tender.

Other potential changes to the Pharmaceutical Schedule

The tender can result in substantial price reductions, and we can use the savings to fund new medicines. We also use the savings to fund changes to the tendered products. For example:

• if the product is currently partially funded, it could become fully funded if the tender was awarded.
• the product could be added to the all-at-once (‘stat’) dispensing list, which would mean that people could collect prescriptions all at once, rather than monthly.
• we might change or remove funding restrictions so more people can use it (for example, a Special Authority restriction, endorsement, or prescriber-type restriction). We might consult on this separately before making a decision.

We are interested in your feedback on potential changes for the medicines we are tendering. You can see the Pharmaceutical Schedule for all dispensing and funding restrictions.

Alternative commercial proposals (ACP)

We now provide an ACP submission form and guidance document which outlines what to include (and what not to include) in an ACP. Please review the guidance document in full before submitting an ACP.

ACP submission form [DOCX, 23 KB]

ACP guidance document [PDF, 335 KB]

ACPs are due by 4 pm (New Zealand Time), Tuesday 27 August 2024. Pharmac may not consider any ACPs that are submitted after this date.

Usage data for ‘PCT only’ products

The table below contains ‘PCT only’ funded usage data for the year ended 30 June 2024 for tender items included in the 2024/25 Invitation to Tender. These volumes are approximate and indicative only. Pharmac makes no representation as to the accuracy of these figures or the level of sales or likely sales of any tender item.  

Chemical	Total usage (mg)
Bortezomib	29,900
Carmustine	42,400
Fludarabine phosphate	36,400
Mitomycin C	3,300

 Electronic tender (eTender) system

The 2024/25 Invitation to Tender will be distributed via Pharmac’s electronic tendering portal (In-Tend).

The portal requires companies to register for a user account. Details of how to register will be distributed before we release the final 2024/25 Invitation to Tender. A ‘practice’ tender will be released in September/October 2024 for users who wish to familiarise themselves with the portal.

Please let us know if the contact details for the person responsible for submitting tender bids have changed for your company by emailing tender@pharmac.govt.nz

To provide feedback

Feedback should be provided to Pharmac’s tender analysts via our online form or by emailing tender@pharmac.govt.nz

All feedback received before the closing date will be considered by Pharmac’s Board or its delegate prior to finalising the 2024/25 Invitation to Tender.

Your feedback may be shared

Feedback we receive is subject to the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). Please be aware that we may need to share your feedback, including your identity, in response to an OIA request. This applies to anyone providing feedback, whether they are providing feedback themselves or for an organisation, in a personal or professional capacity.

We can only keep feedback confidential as allowed under the OIA and other related laws. If you want any part of your feedback treated as confidential, you need to tell us why. Is it commercially sensitive, confidential or proprietary, or personal information? Clearly state this and tell us which parts of your feedback you want to keep confidential for these reasons. We will consider your request under our OIA requirements.

Appendix One – Unresolved tenders

2022/23 Invitation to Tender 

Chemical Name	Tender Item
Moxifloxacin	Tab 400 mg
Temozolomide	Cap 5 mg
Temozolomide	Cap 20 mg
Temozolomide	Cap 100 mg
Temozolomide	Cap 140 mg
Temozolomide	Cap 250 mg

2023/24 Invitation to Tender

Chemical Name	Tender Item
Levodopa with carbidopa and entacapone	Tab 50 mg with carbidopa 12.5 mg and entacapone 200 mg
Levodopa with carbidopa and entacapone	Tab 75 mg with carbidopa 18.75 mg and entacapone 200 mg
Levodopa with carbidopa and entacapone	Tab 100 mg with carbidopa 25 mg and entacapone 200 mg
Levodopa with carbidopa and entacapone	Tab 125 mg with carbidopa 31.25 mg and entacapone 200 mg
Levodopa with carbidopa and entacapone	Tab 150 mg with carbidopa 37.5 mg and entacapone 200 mg
Levodopa with carbidopa and entacapone	Tab 200 mg with carbidopa 50 mg and entacpone 200 mg
Methotrexate	Inj 7.5 mg prefilled syringe
Methotrexate	Inj 10 mg prefilled syringe
Methotrexate	Inj 15 mg prefilled syringe
Methotrexate	Inj 20 mg prefilled syringe

2023/24 Invitation to Tender

Chemical Name	Tender Item
Acetazolamide	Tab 250 mg
Cetirizine hydrochloride	Oral liq 1 mg per ml
Clomipramine Hydrochloride	Tab 10 mg
Clomipramine Hydrochloride	Tab 25 mg
Dapsone	Tab 100 mg
Dapsone	Tab 25 mg
Disulfiram	Tab 200 mg
Econazole Nitrate	Crm 1%
Ertapenem	Inj 1 g
Fenofibrate	Cap/tab 48 mg
Fenofibrate	Cap/tab 145 mg
Fosfomycin (current access)	Powder
Fosfomycin (widened access)	Powder
Glibenclamide	Tab 5 mg
Glyceryl trinitrate	Inj 1 mg per ml, 50 ml
Lanreotide	Inj 60 mg per 0.5 ml, 0.5 ml syringe
Lanreotide	Inj 90 mg per 0.5 ml, 0.5 ml syringe
Lanreotide	Inj 120 mg per 0.5 ml, 0.5 ml syringe

 2023/24 Invitation to Tender

Chemical Name	Tender Item
Methotrexate	Inj 25 mg prefilled syringe
Methotrexate	Inj 30 mg prefilled syringe
Mifepristone	Tab 200 mg
Neostigmine metisulfate with glycopyrronium bromide	Inj 2.5 mg with glycopyrronium bromide 0.5 mg per ml, 1 ml
Netupitant with Palonosetron	Cap netupitant 300 mg with palonosetron 500 mcg
Ocular NSAID	Eye drops
Pyridostigmine bromide	Tab 60 mg
Rasagiline	Tab 1 mg
Sunitinib (current access)	Cap 12.5 mg
Sunitinib (current access)	Cap 25 mg
Sunitinib (current access)	Cap 50 mg
Sunitinib (widened access)	Cap 12.5 mg
Sunitinib (widened access)	Cap 25 mg
Sunitinib (widened access)	Cap 50 mg
Tadalafil	Tab/Cap 5 mg
Tadalafil	Tab/Cap 10 mg
Tadalafil	Tab/Cap 20 mg
Verapamil hydrochloride	Inj 2.5 mg per ml, 2 ml
Zonisamide	Cap 25 mg
Zonisamide	Cap 50 mg
Zonisamide	Cap 100 mg