Decision to list medical devices supplied by Thermo Fisher Scientific

What we’re doing

We're pleased to announce the approval of a listing agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Limited (“Thermo Fisher Scientific”) for the supply of laboratory equipment and consumables to Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora (“Health NZ”) hospitals.

In summary this will result in:

• Listing of medical devices in the laboratory equipment and consumables category supplied by Thermo Fisher Scientific in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 April 2025 under a national agreement that all Health NZ hospitals may purchase under (“Agreement”); and
• Health NZ hospitals being able to continue to purchase other suppliers’ brands of medical devices in the laboratory equipment and consumables category as the Agreement is not for sole supply.

Any changes to the original proposal?

This decision was subject to a consultation letter dated 2 December 2024.

During the consultation some devices were removed from listing, and pricing for some devices has been altered.

Who we think will be most interested

• Health NZ staff including but not limited to:
  • Clinicians
  • Clinical engineers and maintenance services
  • Laboratory managers, scientists, technicians and other laboratory staff
  • Nurses
  • Pathologists
  • Procurement and supply chain personnel
• Suppliers and wholesalers

Detail about this decision

In September 2018, Pharmac released a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) for laboratory equipment and consumable medical devices.

The RFP was for non-exclusive national agreements for listing on the Pharmaceutical Schedule.

After completing the RFP evaluation process, and consulting on the provisional agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific, Pharmac has decided to list Thermo Fisher Scientific’s laboratory equipment and consumable medical devices in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 April 2025.

Health NZ hospitals can continue to choose which medical devices they purchase, including those from other suppliers. Health NZ hospitals that purchase medical devices in this category from Thermo Fisher Scientific must do so under the terms and conditions, including pricing, in the agreement from 1 April 2025.

The list of products will be available on Pharmac’s website from 1 April 2025.

Our response to what you told us

We’re really grateful for the time people took to respond to this consultation. Feedback was received from Health NZ regarding some products and pricing in the Agreement. Pharmac reviewed this feedback and engaged with the supplier and Health NZ to correct details for the proposed device listings, including corrections to pricing and removal of duplicate/discontinued items. We are continuing to work with the supplier to ensure all medical devices being purchased by Health NZ are listed on the Pharmaceutical 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.