Decision delay for two new diabetes treatments
PHARMAC is taking more time to consider all the feedback it has received on a proposal to fund empagliflozin (with or without metformin) and dulaglutide for New Zealanders with type 2 diabetes.
In its proposal to fund these medicines PHARMAC advised that if it was approved by the PHARMAC Board, funding for empagliflozin would commence on 1 December 2020, and dulaglutide would be funded as soon as practicable following Medsafe approval.
“Consultation is a very important step in our process. It’s how we check that what we are proposing can be implemented by the health sector and that the people who will get the most benefit from the medicines will be able to access them,” says Lisa Williams, PHARMAC’s director of operations.
“With every consultation PHARMAC takes all feedback received into consideration before a final decision is made. We want to thank the 60 or so individuals, professional societies and advocacy groups who took the time to make submissions on this proposal.
While the feedback was overwhelmingly positive about funding the two medicines, there were some important concerns raised.
PHARMAC is now carefully considering the feedback received. Unfortunately, this means that our decision on these medicines will be delayed, and these medicines will not be funded from 1 December 2020 as originally proposed.
“We understand that this delay is likely to be disappointing to many people,” says Lisa.
“At this stage, we do not have a firm timeframe for when a decision will be made. We understand the keen interest of many people in these medicines, so will update stakeholders on our progress and timeframes as soon as we can.”