Decision to fund celecoxib under a sole supply arrangement

This was the subject of a consultation letter dated 31 October 2016.

In summary, the effect of the decision is that:

• celecoxib 100 mg and 200 mg capsules will be funded with no restrictions from 1 June 2017
• Pfizer’s brand of celecoxib (Celecoxib Pfizer) will have Sole Supply Status and Hospital Supply Status from 1 August 2017 until 30 June 2020
• celecoxib cap 400 mg will be delisted from the Hospital Medicines List from 1 August 2017
• DHB hospital use of etoricoxib tablets will be restricted to in-vivo investigation of allergy only from 1 August 2017
• there will be no change to the funding of meloxicam.

Details of the decision

• From 1 June 2017 Pfizer’s brand of celecoxib 100 mg and 200 mg capsules (Celecoxib Pfizer) will be listed in Section B and Part II of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule as follows (ex-manufacturer and excluding GST):

• Celecoxib Pfizer (cap 100 mg and 200 mg) will be awarded Sole Supply Status, meaning that Celecoxib Pfizer will be the only funded oral selective COX-2 inhibitor of the ‘coxib’ class in the community from 1 August 2017 until 30 June 2020.
• Celecoxib Pfizer (cap 100 mg and 200 mg) will be awarded Hospital Supply Status for oral selective COX-2 inhibitors of the ‘coxib’ class in DHB hospitals. This will exclude the use of etoricoxib tablets for in-vivo investigation of allergy. A 1% DV limit will apply to celecoxib at the chemical level (rather than each individual line item).
• For the avoidance of doubt, the COX-2 inhibitor meloxicam will remain listed in Section B and Part II of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule and the Special Authority criteria and restrictions applying to it will remain unchanged. Meloxicam does not belong to the ‘coxib’ class of COX-2 inhibitors.
• From 1 August 2017 celecoxib cap 400 mg will be delisted from the Hospital Medicines List.
• From 1 August 2017 the restriction applying to etoricoxib in the Hospital Medicines list will be amend as follows (changes in bold and strikethrough):

Restricted
Initiation
For preoperative and/or postoperative use for a total of up to 8 days’ use.
For in-vivo investigation of allergy only.

Feedback received

We appreciate all of the feedback that we received and acknowledge the time people took to respond. All consultation responses received by 15 November 2016 were considered in their entirety in making a decision on the proposed changes. Most responses were supportive of the proposal, and the following issues were raised in relation to specific aspects of the proposal:

More information

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 66 00 50.