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

Overview

Pharmac | Te Pātaka Whaioranga is seeking feedback from consumers, whānau, patient support groups, consumer advocacy groups, the public, and other interested people 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’re particularly interested in feedback on:

• would a brand change for any of the medicines included in the draft tender list be not appropriate, and why?
• whether Pharmac should delay or avoid a brand change for any of these medicines and, if so, why?
• are there any features of the medicines that we should consider when evaluating them?
• what are the potential benefits, issues, or consequences of dispensing the entire prescription for any of these products all at once?
• are there potential benefits, issues, or consequences if we removed any funding restrictions from the medicine (such as Special Authority criteria)?
• which medicines, indications (uses), or population groups might need an alternative brand if a brand change were to occur and why?
• are the proposed Additional Special Terms for intra-uterine devices [Non-hormonal] (IUDs) appropriate?

We welcome any other feedback you may wish to provide. Please contact us if you wish to meet to discuss anything in this consultation.

We are also seeking feedback from healthcare professionals and suppliers.

Health care professionals’ consultation

Industry consultation

Please share this consultation with others who you think might be interested. We want to hear feedback from a range of people.

This consultation and all the related documents are available as downloads

About the annual tender

Pharmac’s annual tender is used to contract for supply of medicines. Most of these medicines are already funded in New Zealand and are no longer under patent. A patent lets the inventor of a medicine own it exclusively for a set period – when that period ends, other suppliers can then make and sell that medicine.

The tender helps to secure the ongoing supply of medicines and creates savings. These savings can be used to fund new medicines.

Each year, Pharmac runs a tender which includes some of the medicines on the Pharmaceutical Schedule (the list of funded medicines). The list of medicines changes from year to year. Typically, each medicine is tendered every three years.

Before we run the tender each year, we ask for feedback from healthcare professionals, consumer groups, the pharmaceutical industry, and the public. This can tell us if:

• tendering is appropriate for each medicine
• there are any potential issues when considering a change in brand for a particular medicine.

Pharmac’s Tender Clinical Advisory Committee gives us advice on every tender decision we make. The committee is made up of health care professionals, including doctors, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists. As needed, we also seek more advice from specialists in particular fields, such as cancer or mental health.

The feedback and advice we get makes sure our decisions support New Zealanders to live longer, healthier lives.

What the tender means

If we award a tender for a medicine to a pharmaceutical supplier, then that supplier’s brand becomes the main funded brand of that medicine. It would likely be the only brand of that medicine funded on the Pharmaceutical Schedule. We call this “Principal Supply Status”. For this tender round, Principal Supply Status would be in place until June 2028.  

If the brand awarded the tender was already the only funded brand, there would be no noticeable difference for most people, although the price that Pharmac pays may change.

If that brand was one of multiple funded brands, we would move people to the brand that has been awarded the tender over time. The other brands would be removed from the Pharmaceutical Schedule. Usually, this takes five months.

If that brand was not already funded, we would move from the old brand to the new one over time. When the new brand is listed on the Pharmaceutical Schedule, the old brand remains available and funded. Then, usually after five months, the old brand is removed from the Pharmaceutical Schedule. We notify any upcoming changes at least one month before they occur.

Access to other brands if a tender is awarded to a new brand

Most people will start on, or move to, the new brand easily. However, we understand that people’s experiences when taking medicines can be different. We use an “alternative brand allowance” (ABA) to support people who may experience, or are at greater risk of, negative outcomes from a brand change. This may mean:

• moving back to the old brand after bad side effects
• having more time to change brands
• allowing some patients to avoid switching altogether.

We need to know which medicines might need alternative brands before we run the tender because we can’t guarantee continued supply of alternative brands.

We are keen to understand:

• which medicines, indications, or population groups might need an alternative brand and, if so, why?
• are there any features of the medicines that we should consider when evaluating them?

Other potential changes

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.

Additional Special Terms

We have included Additional Special Terms in the draft 2024/25 Invitation to Tender contract 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. 

The tender list

See Schedule Two: Products to be tendered (draft, by therapeutic group) for the list of medicines that we are proposing to include in this year’s tender. Medicines have been grouped according to the therapeutic group classification system used in the Pharmaceutical Schedule.

Schedule Two: Products to be tendered [PDF, 193 KB]

A therapeutic group is a category that includes medicines used to treat similar health problems.

Below is a list of these groups, and the corresponding page numbers. Medicines that may treat multiple health problems only appear in one group.

Therapeutic group	Pages
Alimentary Tract and Metabolism	8–9
Blood and Blood Forming Organs	9
Cardiovascular System	10–11
Dermatologicals	11
Genito-Urinary System	12
Hormone Preparations	12–13
Infections	13–14
Musculoskeletal System	14
Nervous System	14–17
Oncology and Immunosuppressants	17
Respiratory	17–18
Sensory Organs	18
Various	18

Most of the items in the tender have been included in the annual tender before. However, we have not previously tendered the following products:  

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

Information provided for each medicine

For each medicine (as defined by chemical name, form, and strength), we have provided, where applicable:

• the current subsidy paid per unit (such as, capsule, tablet, injection) as of 1 July 2024. These values are ex-manufacturer, excluding GST
• the number of units funded in the community in the year ending 30 June 2024 These may be partially funded or fully funded
• an estimate of the annual community-market value, based on the current subsidy paid for each unit. Pharmac estimates this by multiplying the volume of units used during the year ending 30 June 2024 by the current listed unit subsidy as at 1 July 2024
• comments relating to the tender item and/or its current listing on the Pharmaceutical Schedule.

Explanation of terms, symbols, and abbreviations

Some of the terms, abbreviations and symbols used in the draft tender list are quite specific.

Terms / abbreviations used in the draft tender list:

Term / abbreviation	Explanation
Tab	Tablet
Cap	Capsule
Liq	Liquid
Inj	Injection
Suppos	Suppository
Grans	Granules
OP	Original pack to be dispensed

Symbols used in the draft tender list:

Symbol	Explanation
Underlined	Tender items where there is currently a sole supply or principal supply contract are underlined. The price and subsidy for these items are fixed until 30 June 2025 unless otherwise stated in the comments column, therefore a listing of a new brand could only occur after that date.
C	To be tendered for Principal Supply Status (community medicines).
H	To be tendered for Principal Supply Status (hospital medicines).
PCT	Pharmaceuticals for which Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora hospitals may claim a subsidy through Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule.
+	Pharmac has been advised of the existence of a patent.
*	There is no fully funded product available for this tender item (in relation to community supply).
@	Additional Stock Pharmaceuticals (ASP). The supplier of the successful tender bid would be required to hold additional stock.
#	A rebate currently exists.

Key dates

23 July 2024 – Consultation begins

3 September 2024 – Consultation closes

September 2024 –Tender Clinical Advisory Committee meets

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

January 2025 – Earliest tender results announced

April 2025 – Earliest listing of new brands

Providing feedback

Feedback should be provided to the Tender Analysts through our online form or by emailing tender@pharmac.govt.nz.

Pharmac’s Board (or its delegate) will consider all feedback you send by the closing date before we finalise 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. Please let us know if you want to keep part of your feedback confidential, and 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.