Decision to make changes to funded 60 mm and 56 mm (0.05 mm thickness) male latex condoms

Medicines Decision

We're pleased to announce a decision to make changes to funded 60 mm nominal width and 56 mm nominal width (0.05 mm thickness) male latex condoms through an agreement with Jackson Allison Medical and Surgical Limited (Jackson Allison).

This decision follows PHARMAC’s 2019 decision to make changes to funded 49 mm, 53 mm and 56 mm male latex condoms, in relation to a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the supply of a range of condoms

The following changes will occur:

  • from 1 June 2020 the price of the currently funded brand of 60 mm nominal width male latex condoms, Shield XL, will increase
  • from 1 October 2020, the Gold Knight XL brand of 60 mm male latex condoms will be fully funded and listed in Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule in 144 unit bulk packs and 12 unit dispensing packs. Dispensing packs will be supplied as boxes of 12 packs of 12 condoms. Bulk packs will be supplied as boxes of 144 loose condoms
  • the currently funded 144 bulk pack of Shield XL brand 60 mm nominal width male latex condoms will remain fully funded until at least 1 October 2020 and will be delisted from the Pharmaceutical Schedule once existing stock has been sold through
  • the maximum number of funded 60 mm nominal width male latex condoms that can be prescribed and available via a Practitioner’s Supply Order (PSO) will also be reduced from 144 to 60 condoms from 1 October 2020. This is intended to reduce funded condom wastage and aligns with changes to PSO dispensing volumes for other nominal widths of male latex condoms that were made in 2019
  • From 1 October 2020, 144 unit bulk packs of 56 mm nominal width (0.05 mm thickness) Gold Knight brand male latex condoms suitable for use by bulk supply organisations will be listed in Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule alongside the currently funded Gold Knight brand 144 (12 x 12 unit) dispensing pack.

Any changes to the original proposal?

There are no changes to the original proposal. We want to thank everyone who provided all their thoughtful feedback to this consultation, which has fed into this decision.

This decision was subject to a consultation letter dated 8 April 2019

Who we think will be most interested

  • People who access funded condoms.
  • The New Zealand AIDS Foundation.
  • Family Planning Clinics.
  • New Zealand Prostitutes Collective Trust.
  • OneLink and other organisations that access and distribute funded condoms.
  • Clinicians and community pharmacists who prescribe and dispense funded condoms.
  • Suppliers and wholesalers of condoms.

Detail about this decision

The following table shows the brands and pack sizes of 60 mm nominal width and 56 mm nominal width (0.05 mm thickness) male latex condoms that will be funded and listed in Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule over the coming months.

Nominal width Brand Thickness Flavour Colour Pack type Pack Size
(units = number of condoms)
From now until 1 October 2020
60mm Shield XL 0.07 mm None None Bulk pack 144 units*
56 mm Gold Knight 0.05 mm None None Dispensing pack 12 x 12 units*
From 1 October 2020 until Shield XL stock is exhausted
60mm Shield XL 0.07 mm None None Bulk pack 144 units*
Gold Knight XL 0.07 mm None None Bulk pack 144 units
Gold Knight XL 0.07 mm None None Dispensing pack 12 x 12 units
56 mm Gold Knight 0.05 mm None None Dispensing pack 12 x 12 units*
Gold Knight 0.05 mm None None Bulk pack 144 units
From exhaustion of Shield XL stock until 30 September 2022
60 mm Gold Knight XL 0.07 mm None None Bulk pack 144 units
Gold Knight XL 0.07 mm None None Dispensing pack 12 x 12 units
56 mm Gold Knight 0.05 mm None None Dispensing pack 12 x 12 units*
Gold Knight 0.05 mm None None Bulk pack 144 units
* condom is currently listed in Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule

  • The Shield XL and Gold Knight XL brands of 60 mm nominal width condoms will be awarded Sole Subsidised Supply status from 1 June 2020 until 30 September 2022. Both brands will have Sole Subsidised Supply status at different times during this period. Further detail is provided in the table above and the ‘Transition’ section below.
  • From 1 June 2020 the price of the currently funded Shield XL brand of 60 mm nominal width male latex condoms will increase as follows:

Presentation

Brand

Pack size

Current price and subsidy

New price and subsidy

Condoms 60 mm

Shield XL

144

$13.36

$14.87

  • The Shield XL brand of 60 mm nominal width male latex condoms will continue to be funded while existing stocks last and, will be delisted from the Pharmaceutical Schedule at a date to be determined after 1 October 2020 once remaining stocks are exhausted.
  • From 1 October 2020 the Gold Knight XL brand of 60 mm nominal width male latex condoms will be awarded Sole Subsidised Supply status and will be listed in Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule as follows:

 Presentation

Brand

 Pack size

 Price and subsidy
(ex-man, ex GST)

Condoms 60 mm 

Gold Knight XL

 12

 $1.42

Condoms 60 mm

Gold Knight XL

144

 $17.02

Condoms 60 mm (bulk pack) 

Gold Knight XL

144

$14.87

  • From 1 October 2020 the maximum number of funded 60 mm nominal width condoms that can be prescribed and available via a Practitioner’s Supply Order (PSO) for all brands of 60 mm nominal width male latex condoms will be reduced from 144 to 60 condoms to reduce condom wastage. Bulk Supply Organisations will be unaffected by this change and will continue to be able to access 60 mm condoms in pack sizes of 144 condoms.
  • From 1 October 2020 bulk packs of Gold Knight brand 56 mm nominal width, 0.05 mm male latex condoms will be listed alongside the currently funded dispensing packs as follows:

Presentation

Brand

Pack size

Price and subsidy
(ex-man, ex GST)

Condoms 56 mm, 0.05 mm thickness (bulk pack)

Gold Knight

144

$14.61

60 mm condoms transition

  • The Shield XL and Gold Knight XL brands of 60 mm are both supplied by Jackson Allison and are produced by the same manufacturer.
  • From 1 October 2020 the Gold Knight XL and Shield XL brands of 60 mm nominal width male latex condoms will both be listed in Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule and will have Sole Subsidised Supply status for 60 mm nominal width male latex condoms until the Shield XL brand of 60mm nominal width male latex condoms is delisted from Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule at a date to be determined after 1 October 2020. During this time, all patients currently accessing the Shield XL brand of 60 mm male latex condoms will need to change to the Gold Knight XL brand.
  • Advance notice of the date for Shield XL 60 mm nominal width condoms to be delisted from the Pharmaceutical Schedule will be provided to prescribers, wholesalers, community pharmacies, and other interested parties. Sufficient notice of the delisting date will be provided to allow patients to be transitioned from the Shield XL to the Gold Knight XL brand of 60 mm nominal width condoms.
  • After the Shield XL brand is delisted from the Pharmaceutical Schedule the Gold Knight XL brand will remain as the only funded brand of 60 mm nominal width condoms listed in the Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule and will have Sole Subsidised Supply status for 60 mm male latex condoms until 30 September 2022.

Our response to what you told us

We’re really grateful for the time people took to respond to this consultation. A summary of the main themes raised in feedback and our responses to the feedback received are set out below: 

Theme

PHARMAC Comment

Sole Subsidised Supply periods

One respondent noted confusion regarding the Sole Subsidised Supply status periods included in this proposal.

The Shield XL and Gold Knight XL brands of 60mm condoms supplied by Jackson Allison will have Sole Subsidised Supply status at different times throughout the sole supply period (1 June 2020-30 September 2022)

No changes are proposed to the supply arrangements for the 56 mm, 0.05 mm condoms. Further clarity of the different sole supply periods has been provided above.

Supply of bulk packs of condoms  

One respondent raised concerns that the listing of bulk packs of 144 condoms makes it difficult for pharmacies to track quantities on hand and quantities dispensed.

 

144 bulk packs of condoms are intended for use by bulk supply organisations. For each of the bulk packs of male latex condoms currently listed on the Pharmaceutical Schedule (except of the 49 mm nominal width) dispensing packs are also available, which are suitable for community pharmacies to easily dispense to individual patients.

Bulk packs of 56 mm nominal width, 0.05 mm thickness condoms will be listed on the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 October 2020. There will be no change to currently funded dispensing packs of 56 mm nominal width, 0.05 mm thickness condoms currently listed in Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule.

One respondent queried the difference between the Gold Knight brand, 144 pack of 56 mm, 0.05 mm male latex condoms currently listed in Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule, and the 144 bulk pack of Gold Knight brand 56 mm, 0.05 mm male latex condoms included in the proposal.

The currently listed 144 pack of 56 mm nominal width, 0.05 mm thickness male latex condoms currently listed in Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule is a box of 12 dispensing packs of 12 condoms. The 144 pack of 56 mm nominal width, 0.05 mm thickness male latex condoms included in this proposal is a box of 144 individual condoms suitable for use by bulk supply organisations.

Water-based lubricant and non-latex condoms

Some respondents considered that non-latex condoms and water-based lubricant for use with condoms should be funded

Water-based lubricant sachets and male and female non-latex condoms were included in PHARMAC’s 2019/20 Annual Invitation to Tender. PHARMAC expects to notify the market on the outcome of this procurement activity in 2020.

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.