Newly funded medicine to benefit 110 more people with thyroid, liver, and kidney cancer

We’re funding lenvatinib (branded as Lenvima) for:

• metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer – a type of thyroid cancer where the cancer cells look similar to normal thyroid cells. It is the most common type of thyroid cancer. People eligible for funding have cancer that has not responded to radioactive iodine treatment and the cancer has spread in the body.
• unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma – a type of liver cancer that cannot be removed with surgery. It is one of the most common types of liver cancer and is often diagnosed at a late stage in the disease. 
• metastatic renal cell carcinoma – a type of kidney cancer where the cancer has spread in the body. It is the most common type of liver cancer. 

We’re also widening access to everolimus (branded as Afinitor) so it can be used with lenvatinib for eligible people with kidney cancer.

Access is subject to eligibility criteria detailed on the decision webpage

In the first full year of funding, lenvatinib will be funded for about:

• 30 people with thyroid cancer
• 75 people with liver cancer
• 5 people with kidney cancer (used with everolimus)

For thyroid cancer, we were asked to describe the eligible population in more detail in the criteria. We sought advice from our expert advisors about this and it told us that it would be appropriate to make this clarification, so we have updated the wording of the eligibility criteria.

For kidney cancer, we were asked to expand the eligibility criteria so that people who are experiencing severe side effects with nivolumab (a different medicine) would be eligible. We have made this change.

This funding decision is part of a package of additional funding 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

The funding of lenvatinib and widened access to everolimus will take place from 1 December 2024.

People have told us they would like to see atezolizumab and bevacizumab funded for liver cancer. We are currently running a procurement process that could widen access to bevacizumab. We have an application on our options investment list that we could progress in the future, depending on the priority of our funding choices and if there is funding available. 

• Application Tracker: atezolizumab and bevacizumab – first line treatment(external link)

People have told us they would like to see other medicines funding for kidney cancer as a first treatment option. We have multiple applications on our options for investment list that we would like to fund, including:

• Application Tracker: nivolumab with ipilimumab – first line treatment (external link)
• Application Tracker: pembrolizumab (with axitinib) – first line treatment(external link)
• Application Tracker: pembrolizumab (with lenvatinib) – first line treatment(external link)