Proposal to list a range of interventional cardiology products supplied by Bio-Excel (Australia) Pty Ltd

In summary, this proposal would result in:

• Around 300 interventional cardiology products which are already supplied to some DHB Hospitals being supplied under a proposed national agreement with Bio-Excel that all DHBs may purchase under. This agreement would not be a sole supply agreement, and DHBs may continue to purchase other suppliers brands of interventional cardiology products.
• Bio-Excel will continue providing educational services that will be tailored to suit the needs of individual DHB Hospitals in format and time as required by DHB Hospitals.
• Estimated total savings to DHBs of approximately $131,000 per annum based on current usage. Pricing for interventional cardiology products in the agreement, subject to any prior termination of the agreement would not be increased before 1 November 2017.

Feedback sought

PHARMAC welcomes feedback on this proposal. To provide feedback, please submit it in writing by Monday, 13 October, 2014 to:

All feedback received before the closing date will be considered by PHARMAC’s Board (or its delegate) prior to making a decision on this proposal.

Feedback we receive is subject to the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) and we will consider any request to have information withheld in accordance with our obligations under the OIA. Anyone providing feedback, whether on their own account or on behalf of an organisation, and whether in a personal or professional capacity, should be aware that the content of their feedback and their identity may need to be disclosed in response to an OIA request.

We are not able to treat any part of your feedback as confidential unless you specifically request that we do, and then only to the extent permissible under the OIA and other relevant laws and requirements. If you would like us to withhold any commercially sensitive, confidential proprietary, or personal information included in your submission, please clearly state this in your submission and identify the relevant sections of your submission that you would like it withheld. PHARMAC will give due consideration to any such request.

Details of the proposal

PHARMAC has entered into a provisional agreement with Bio-Excel for a range of interventional cardiology products. The exact product range and pricing in this proposal has not been included in this consultation for brevity, however we are making it available to Procurement Departments at DHBs. Brand ranges in the agreement include:

• Sheathless
• Zenyte
• Seal One
• Treasure
• Regalia
• Sion
• Fielder
• Gaia
• Stride
• Acrostak
• Lacrosse
• Asato
• Thrombuster
• Ichiban
• Miracle
• Conquest
• Pericardium Stent
• Crusade
• Treasure
• Supercross
• Corsair
• Kaneka Sortana
• Eurocor
• Dio
• Okay

If the agreement is approved by PHARMAC’s Board or its delegate, Bio-Excel’s range of interventional cardiology products would be listed in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule, which contains products under a national agreement that DHBs are able to purchase under.

The agreement includes terms for education services to be provided by Bio-Excel to DHB personnel on appropriate use of its interventional cardiology products, which is to be provided at times as agreed with individual DHBs.

Interventional cardiology products would be listed in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule.

Background

In April 2014 PHARMAC issued a registration of interest document, seeking proposals from suppliers for non-exclusive national agreements for interventional cardiology products. Following closure of this request, we have been working with a number of suppliers in order to seek to reach an agreement with them. The Bio-Excel agreement is the first of these and we intend to consult on additional proposed agreements over the next few months, provided we can reach agreement with suppliers.