New heart medicine for 18,000 New Zealanders

12 November 2024

Media release Medicines

Pharmac has decided to fund the medicine empagliflozin for thousands of people with a type of long-term heart failure.

Empagliflozin (branded as Jardiance) is an oral daily tablet that helps the heart pump blood around the body so that people can breathe easier and are less likely to experiencing swelling.

Pharmac funded empagliflozin for the first time in 2020 for some people with type 2 diabetes as it also helps to keep the levels of sugar in the blood in the healthy range.

From 1 December Pharmac will widen access to empagliflozin for people with a type of chronic heart failure who have reduced ejection fraction. About half of all people with chronic heart failure have this type of the condition, where the lower left part of the heart doesn't pump blood out to the body as well as it should.

Geraldine MacGibbon, Pharmac ’s Director Pharmaceuticals, says that widening access to empagliflozin will reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, mean fewer people in hospital, and improve quality of life for people.

“We estimate that around 18,000 New Zealanders with chronic heart failure will benefit in the first year of funding empagliflozin, rising to over 37,000 people per year after five years of funding.

“People with this condition will be able to live healthier lives with their whānau and communities for longer,” she says.

“We also expect this funding decision will result in a reduction in hospitalisations, easing the pressure on our wider health system,” MacGibbon says.

Māori and Pacific people are four to five times more likely to be hospitalised with heart failure and have double the chance of dying from chronic heart failure than other people.

“Funding this medicine will have a positive impact on a lot of lives,” says MacGibbon.

Medical Director of the Heart Foundation, Dr Gerry Devlin, says that the medication will give a New Zealander with heart failure an additional six years of life compared to conventional treatment.

“We are pleased that we are now in line with international best practice for treatment of this group of New Zealanders living with heart failure. Widening access will have a significant impact on improving the quality of life for many heart failure patients and improving the heart health of New Zealanders.”

“This is a positive step, but there remain many New Zealanders with other forms of heart failure who would benefit from these drugs, and we will continue to advocate for them so they can live longer, healthier lives.”

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

Decision to widen access to empagliflozin for chronic heart failure

Media resources

YouTube | Geraldine MacGibbon talks about our empagliflozin decision(external link)

Pronunciation guide

empagliflozin – em·puh·glai·flow·zn

Questions and answers

What is Pharmac funding?

What is chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction?

Chronic heart failure is a long-term condition that happens when the heart doesn’t pump blood and oxygen around the body as well as it should. This lack of oxygen can lead to organ damage. Symptoms of chronic heart failure include shortness of breath, tiredness, problems exercising, and swelling of the feet, ankles, and abdomen.

Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction is a type of heart failure that happens when the heart's lower left chamber (left ventricle) can’t contract normally when the heart beats. This means that means less blood circulates throughout the body. It's sometimes called systolic heart failure.

Empagliflozin reduces the amount of work the heart has to do to pump blood around the body. This helps improve the symptoms of heart failure such as breathlessness, tiredness and swelling in lower legs. It also reduces the chances of the heart getting weaker.

Who will benefit, and how?

Empagliflozin belongs to a class of medicines called SGLT2 inhibitors. SGLT2 inhibitors have been shown to help protect the heart and delay kidney failure in people with chronic heart failure.

Pharmac expects that over 18,000 people would benefit from the widened access to empagliflozin in the first 12 months of funding. We expect this to rise to over 37,000 people per year after five years of funding.

Māori are more than four times more likely to be hospitalised with heart failure than non-Māori and non-Pacific peoples, while Pacific peoples are five times more likely to be hospitalised. Both groups are more than twice likely to die due to heart failure compared with non-Māori, non-Pacific.

What impact will this decision have on New Zealand’s health system?

How will Pharmac fund this?

What feedback did you receive during the public consultation?

We received feedback from clinicians, advocacy groups, suppliers, consumers, and health sector stakeholders. The feedback received was largely supportive and so there have been only minor changes to the original proposal.

We also received feedback requesting access to empagliflozin for people with preserved ejection fraction. We have received an application for this use and the next step is for it to be considered by the Cardiovascular Advisory Committee at its next meeting.