Cancer medicines funded in the past 10 years
1 June 2021: OIA response | Cancer medicines funded in the past 10 years
Dear [name and contact details withheld]
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
Thank you for your request dated 8 April 2021 under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information relating to the number of new cancer medicines funded in the past 10 years. You requested:
The number of new cancer medicines funded in the past 10 years (both number of new individual drugs and perhaps number of extra patients treated) …ideally numbers + a graphic illustration.
New medicines for cancer approved would be OK if that is easier, widened would be helpful but not essential.
Please see the table below which details all the investment decisions for cancer medicines made from 1 July 2010 to 31 March 2021. Note that the number of new patients is estimated based on the number of people likely to access the medicines in the first financial year[1] (FYR) of funding (from the implementation month to the end of the financial year in which the medicines were first funded). The actual numbers of patients treated will likely differ from the estimates and be greater in the years after funding was first implemented.
From 1 July 2010 to 31 March 2021, PHARMAC has funded 52 cancer medicines (widened access and new listings). Of these medicines, the total estimated number of new patients treated in the first FYR of funding was 6,547.
Additionally, PHARMAC funded the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) from January 2017 for the prevention of premalignant genital (cervical, vulvar and vaginal) and anal lesions (item 20 in the below table). The estimated number of new patients treated in the first financial year of funding was 25,000.
Please note, we are unable to provide a graphic illustration as requested as we do not currently hold any graphics relating to this specific information. Therefore, we have declined your request for a graphic illustration on the basis that the information is not held by PHARMAC (section 18(g)(i) of the OIA).
However, some graphics related to funding cancer medicines can be found in our Year in Review 2019/20 report and other past Year in Review documents which are published to our website: www.pharmac.govt.nz > About > What we do > Year in Review
We trust that this information answers your queries. We are making our information more freely available, so we now publish selected OIA responses (excluding personal details) on our website. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about this.
Yours sincerely
Rachel Read
Manager, Policy and Government Services
Table: Investment decisions for cancer medicines made from 1 July 2010 to 31 March 2021*
Investment decisions are classified as access widening (AW)** or new listings (NL)***
* Excludes temporary access widenings due to COVID-19 or discontinuations of previously funded treatments.
**Changes in access criteria for existing funded medicines, making them more accessible and/or available for a wider patient population(s).
***Any medicine not currently listed on the Schedule and any new presentations (ie tablet, infusion, injection) that represent a significant shift in treatment options for patients.
# |
Pharmaceutical |
Used to treat |
Decision type |
Implementation month |
Estimated # new patients in first FYR of funding |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Febuxostat |
Prevention of tumour lysis syndrome |
AW |
February 2021 |
15 |
2 |
Fulvestrant |
Locally advanced or metastatic oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer |
NL |
April 2020 |
891 |
3 |
Lenalidomide |
Newly diagnosed multiple myeloma post-autologous stem cell transplant |
AW |
April 2020 |
90 |
4 |
Palbociclib |
HR-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer |
NL |
April 2020 |
539 |
5 |
Bortezomib |
Multiple myeloma and amyloidosis |
AW |
March 2020 |
- |
6 |
Rituximab |
Cancer, blood and autoimmune conditions |
AW |
March 2020 |
45 |
7 |
Ruxolitinib |
Myelofibrosis, lower-risk (Intermediate-1) |
AW |
March 2020 |
23 |
8 |
Olaparib |
BRCA-mutated relapsed ovarian cancer |
NL |
February 2020 |
15 |
9 |
Alectinib |
ALK positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer |
NL |
December 2019 |
23 |
10 |
Nivolumab and Pembrolizumab |
Immune checkpoint inhibitor for advanced melanoma widened access |
AW |
December 2019 |
- |
11 |
Trastuzumab emtansine |
HER-2 positive metastatic breast cancer |
NL |
December 2019 |
25 |
12 |
Venetoclax (with or without Rituximab) |
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia |
NL |
December 2019 |
150 |
13 |
Dasatinib |
Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and acute lymphoid leukaemia (ALL) |
AW |
June 2019 |
- |
14 |
Ruxolitinib |
Myelofibrosis |
NL |
October 2018 |
45 |
15 |
Mercaptopurine |
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia |
NL |
June 2018 |
31 |
16 |
Cetuximab |
Head and neck cancer |
NL |
February 2018 |
18 |
17 |
Zoledronic acid |
Early breast cancer |
AW |
January 2018 |
400 |
18 |
Pemetrexed |
Mesothelioma and non-small cell lung cancer |
NL |
November 2017 |
90 |
19 |
Bendamustine |
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (iNHL) |
NL |
July 2017 |
160 |
20 |
Human papillomavirus vaccine |
Prevention of premalignant genital (cervical, vulvar and vaginal) and anal lesions |
AW |
January 2017 |
25,000 |
21 |
Pertuzumab |
Metastatic breast cancer |
NL |
January 2017 |
32 |
22 |
Obinutuzumab |
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia |
NL |
January 2017 |
54 |
23 |
Rituximab |
Hairy cell leukaemia and re-treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia |
AW |
January 2017 |
60 |
24 |
Temozolomide |
High grade gliomas (and from 1 Sept 16 well differentiated neuroendocrine tumours) |
AW |
December 2016 |
144 |
25 |
Pembrolizumab |
Unresectable metastatic melanoma |
NL |
September 2016 |
333 |
26 |
Nivolumab |
Unresectable metastatic melanoma |
NL |
July 2016 |
254 |
27 |
Cinacalcet |
Parathyroid carcinoma, calciphylaxis |
NL |
May 2016 |
5 |
28 |
Abiraterone |
Advanced prostate cancer |
NL |
May 2015 |
136 |
29 |
Zoledronic acid |
Hypercalcaemia and cancer-related bone metastases |
AW |
February 2015 |
26 |
30 |
Everolimus |
Sub-ependymal giant cell astrocytoma |
NL |
November 2014 |
4 |
31 |
Nilotinib |
Chronic myeloid leukaemia |
NL |
November 2014 |
28 |
32 |
Benzydamine hydrochloride |
Oral mucositis in Cancer patients |
AW |
October 2014 |
1,047 |
33 |
Bicalutamide |
Prostate cancer |
AW |
October 2014 |
60 |
34 |
Lenalidomide |
Multiple myeloma |
NL |
September 2014 |
56 |
35 |
Azacitidine |
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) |
NL |
September 2014 |
111 |
36 |
Imatinib |
Imatinib-AFT for indications other than Gastro Intestinal Stromal Tumours (GIST) |
NL |
April 2014 |
- |
37 |
Erlotinib |
Alternative first-line treatment with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor |
AW |
January 2014 |
10 |
38 |
Pegaspargase |
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia |
AW |
April 2013 |
3 |
39 |
Gemcitabine Hydrochloride |
Metastatic breast cancer, Hodgkin’s Disease, soft tissue sarcoma |
AW |
December 2012 |
59 |
40 |
Irinotecan |
Advanced pancreatic cancer, small bowel cancer |
AW |
December 2012 |
100 |
41 |
Oxaliplatin |
Advanced pancreatic cancer, small bowel cancer, advanced oesophagogastric cancer |
AW |
December 2012 |
191 |
42 |
Vinorelbine |
Breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer |
AW |
December 2012 |
5 |
43 |
Capecitabine |
Metastatic breast cancer, colorectal cancer |
AW |
December 2012 |
188 |
44 |
Sunitinib |
Cancer |
AW |
November 2012 |
- |
45 |
Gefitinib |
Lung cancer |
AW |
August 2012 |
53 |
46 |
Pazopanib |
Metastatic renal cell carcinoma |
NL |
March 2012 |
2 |
47 |
Lapatinib |
Metastatic breast cancer |
NL |
March 2012 |
31 |
48 |
Rituximab |
Cancer treatment |
AW |
August 2011 |
100 |
49 |
Docetaxel |
Cancer treatment |
AW |
July 2011 |
340 |
50 |
Sunitinib Maleate |
Renal cell carcinoma |
NL |
November 2010 |
47 |
51 |
Erlotinib |
Cancer treatment |
NL |
October 2010 |
49 |
52 |
Capecitabine |
Cancer treatment |
AW |
October 2010 |
394 |
53 |
Rituximab |
Cancer treatment |
AW |
October 2010 |
65 |
[1] PHARMAC’s financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June.