Pharmac funds more cancer and respiratory medicines for New Zealanders

6 December 2024

Media release Medicines

More publicly funded medicines are on the way for people with types of breast and lung cancer, and two significant respiratory conditions.

Following public consultation, from 1 January 2025 Pharmac will fund:

osimertinib (branded as Tagrisso) for people with a type of advanced non-small cell lung cancer
trastuzumab deruxtecan (branded as Enhertu) for people with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer
palivizumab (branded as Synagis) to prevent RSV in high-risk babies and young children
budesonide, glycopyrronium and formoterol triple inhaler (branded as Breztri Aerosphere) for people with chronic obstrutive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Pharmac's Director of Pharmaceuticals Geraldine MacGibbon says about 120 people with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer will benefit from trastuzumab deruxtecan in the first year of funding.

One in nine New Zealand women are affected by breast cancer in their lifetimes and around 16% of metastatic breast cancers are classified as HER2-positive. This type of breast cancer has the potential to grow and spread faster than other breast cancers.

"Oncologists, people with cancer, and their community supporting them, have described trastuzumab deruxtecan as a huge advance for HER2-positive breast cancer, so we’re pleased to be able to fund it,” says MacGibbon.

Ah-Leen Rayner, Chief Executive of Breast Cancer Foundation NZ, says today’s news will bring immense relief to many Kiwis affected by breast cancer.

“Enhertu really is a remarkable drug – rarely have we seen doctors so excited by the potential of a new medicine. Having Enhertu funded will mean women with HER2-positive advanced cancer will get the chance to live longer, happier and healthier lives without the financial strain of figuring out how to pay for it themselves – or go without.

“Kiwis with advanced breast cancer desperately need more treatment options to give them the best chance of living a good life, and more collaborative working like this will go a long way to improve cancer medicines access in Aotearoa.”

Libby Burgess, Chair of Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition, says this announcement to fund this breakthrough medicine is fantastic news.

“We’re delighted to see this vital medicine funded given the outstanding results from clinical trials showing that Enhertu keeps the cancer stable for four times as long as the previous best treatment and increases length of life. The decision to fund trastuzumab deruxtecan will enable women and their families to get on with their lives.”

Pharmac will also fund osimertinib for people with a type of advanced non-small cell lung cancer. About 20 percent of people with non-small cell lung cancer have a mutation in their cancer that can be treated with osimertinib. About 200 people will benefit in the first year of funding.

Philip Hope, Chief Executive, Lung Cancer Foundation New Zealand says "This funding announcement really is a breath of equity because it meets the greatest treatment need right now.

"Osimertinib is the gold standard for this type of lung cancer and it will be life changing for patients and their families. We want to acknowledge the leaders and clinical advisors at Pharmac and the key people at AstraZeneca for getting this across the line.”

Palivizumab is a monthly injection that helps protect babies and young children from RSV, respiratory syncytial virus, and is expected to reduce hospitalisation rates for at-risk babies.

“I’m pleased to announce that Pharmac has reached an agreement with the supplier that has enabled us to fund this medicine to protect babies from RSV. We expect about 830 babies and young children to benefit each year,” says MacGibbon.

“Funding this medicine helped to reduce hospitalisations from RSV in 2022 and 2023, and had a significant impact on the health system, in particular neonatal intensive care units.”

Meanwhile, Pharmac’s decision to fund the budesonide, glycopyrronium and eformoterol aerosol inhaler is expected to be used by 5,000 New Zealanders with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the first year of funding. This is expected to increase to 16,000 people after 5 years of funding.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a common lung disease causing restricted airflow and breathing problems. COPD is estimated to affect 15% of all New Zealanders aged over 45 years and is the fourth leading cause of death in New Zealand behind cancer, heart disease and stroke.

“Funding the Breztri Aerosphere triple therapy inhaler provides another option for people. It helps to ease symptoms and flare ups and improves lung function and quality of life for people living with COPD,” says MacGibbon.

The Government provided additional funding to Pharmac in June 2024 to fund new medicines and widen access to medicines that are already funded. The funding boost covers medicines for both cancer and non-cancer health conditions.

Decision to fund treatments for lung cancer, breast cancer and respiratory conditions

	Learn more
Pronunciation guide
trastuzumab deruxtecan – tras-too-zoo-mab deh-rux-tee-kan
osimertinib – oh-sih-mer-tih-nib
palivizumab – pal-i-viz-oo-mab
budesonide - byoo-dess-oh-nide
eformoterol – eff-for-mot-eh-roll
glycopyrronium – gly-coh-purr-roh-nee-um

Questions and answers

What is Pharmac funding?

Who will benefit, and how?

Osimertinib (branded as Tagrisso) for EGFR mutated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death in New Zealand.

Osimertinib is a targeted cancer medicine used to treat NSCLC with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. It prevents cancer cells from multiplying, so it helps to stop or slow the spread of the cancer. It is an oral tablet treatment that people can take at home.

We will fund osimertinib for people with advanced NSCLC who test positive for an EGFR mutation. It would be funded both as an initial treatment (first-line treatment) and for people who have received other treatments previously (second-line treatment) for people with a T790M mutation.

We estimate that around 130 people would benefit from osimertinib as an initial treatment each year. We expect that an additional 45 people who have previously received treatment would access osimertinib in the first year of funding, however this would decrease over time as more people access it as an initial treatment. Another 20-30 who are currently receiving private treatment will be able to now receive funded treatment.

Trastuzumab deruxtecan (branded as Enhertu) for HER2-positive breast cancer

Breast cancer affects one in nine women over their lifetime. We are funding trastuzumab deruxtecan for people with HER2-positive breast cancer.

HER2-positive breast cancer is a breast cancer that tests positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. Around 16% of metastatic breast cancers are HER2 positive.

HER2-positive breast cancer has the potential to grow and spread faster than other breast cancers. We estimate that around 120 people would receive trastuzumab deruxtecan in the first year of funding, and that this would decrease to around 75 people each year after five years of funding.

Palivizumab injection for preventing RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a highly contagious, common respiratory virus that causes lung and respiratory tract infections. It is the leading cause of hospitalisation for lower respiratory tract infections in babies. RSV is usually present in the community between May and October in New Zealand. This is called the RSV season.

Palivizumab is a monthly injection that prevents severe respiratory illnesses caused by RSV. It can reduce hospitalisations and has a positive impact on the health system, in particular neonatal intensive care units, as well as caregivers and whānau.

We are funding palivizumab for prevention of RSV in babies and young children at high risk of infection. We estimate that around 830 babies and young children per year would benefit from treatment.

Pharmac previously funded Palivizumab in 2022 and 2023 from ringfenced funding for the response to COVID-19.

Triple inhaler for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease that causes breathing problems. It is also known as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. It is estimated to affect 15% of all New Zealanders aged over 45 years.

It is the fourth leading cause of death in New Zealand behind cancer, heart disease and stroke.

The budesonide, glycopyrronium and eformoterol aerosol inhaler (branded as Breztri Aerosphere) would provide people with another ‘triple inhaler’ option to treat their COPD. ‘Triple inhalers’ combine three types of medicines that help with breathing and lung function into a single inhaler.

We estimate that 5,000 people would start on the budesonide, glycopyrronium, and eformoterol aerosol inhaler in the first year of funding and that this would increase to around 16,000 people each year after five years of funding.

What changes did you make following consultation feedback?

The response to the consultation was largely supportive and we’ve made a number of changes as a result of feedback on specific aspects of the proposal.

More details about the feedback and our changes are included in the decision document: Decision to fund treatments for lung cancer, breast cancer and respiratory conditions

Changes include:

Osimertinib

enabling use in combination with chemotherapy when used as first line treatment
enabling use of chemotherapy before moving onto osimertinib after surgery to remove the cancer and or waiting for a test result to confirm mutation status
other minor changes to eligibility

Trastuzumab deruxtecan

enabling people to move to trastuzumab emtansine if they have used trastuzumab deruxtecan and they aren’t able to tolerate it
enabling people who have previously used trastuzumab emtansine to receive trastuzumab deruxtecan

Palivizumab

enabling access to additional groups that are at similarly high risk of severe RSV related illness
clarifying that it is intended for use during the annual RSV season, usually between May and October in New Zealand

Budesonide, glycopyrronium and eformoterol ‘triple inhaler’

agreeing with the supplier to fund a Breztri Aerosphere inhaler with an alternative propellant that has a substantially lower environmental impact if it receives Medsafe approval

We also considered feedback that has not resulted in changes, including:

Trastuzumab deruxtecan

People asked for trastuzumab deruxtecan to be funded for people with a different type of breast cancer, called HER2-low. We recently received a funding application for this group of people. We will need to seek clinical advice before we can consider it for funding.

Palivizumab

People told us they would like palivizumab to be able to be administered in the community. We have engaged with stakeholders on this, and once there are mechanisms available for delivery and reimbursement in primary care, we would consider how to best action this request.

How will Pharmac fund this?

When will the medicines be available?