Pharmac funds medicines for liver, ovarian, and neuroendocrine cancers

From 1 March 2025 Pharmac will be:

• widening access to atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and bevacizumab (Vegzelma) for liver cancer that can’t be removed by surgery
• widening access to bevacizumab (Vegzelma) for advanced ovarian cancer
• funding a new brand of bevacizumab (Vegzelma)
• funding lanreotide for neuroendocrine cancers, bowel blockages caused by cancer, and for a growth disorder called acromegaly.

Bevacizumab for advanced ovarian cancer, and atezolizumab with bevacizumab for unresectable liver cancer

Bevacizumab prevents the growth of new blood vessels. This means it helps to stop cancer tumours and abnormal blood vessels from growing and spreading. Atezolizumab works by helping the body’s immune system fight cancer cells.

We expect about 70 people with liver cancer benefit from atezolizumab and bevacizumab in the first year of funding.

About 70 people with ovarian cancer will benefit from bevacizumab in the first year of funding.

Lanreotide acetate for various health conditions including neuroendocrine cancer, a growth disorder called acromegaly, and people with a bowel obstruction

Lanreotide acetate is synthetic hormone that is involved in several metabolic processes. It comes as a prefilled syringe that is usually administered by a health care professional, but people could be trained to self-administer this at home.

We expect about 40 to 50 people to start on treatment annually.

Our decision to widen access to bevacizumab will mean that some people will need to change brands. Bevacizumab is given in hospitals under the supervision of healthcare professionals.

People with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, who are not already using the new brand of bevacizumab, will need to change by 1 August 2025. 

We will have information available on our website to help with the transition, and processes in place to consider funding other brands of bevacizumab if someone is unable to change brand.

People who are already using the Avastin brand of bevacizumab for an eye condition will not need to change brands.  We are in contact with the supplier of Avastin to understand the medicine’s ongoing availability for those who need it.

Widened access to bevacizumab and atezolizumab will start from 1 March 2025.

For lanreotide, the 60 mg and 120 mg strengths will be available from 1 March 2025 and the 90 mg strength will be available from 1 April 2025.

This funding decision is part of a package of additional funded allocated by the Government in June 2024. The funding boost enables Pharmac to fund a number of new medicines and to widen access to medicines that are already funded for both cancer and non-cancer health conditions.

Questions and answers on budget increase

Track our progress to funding