Pembrolizumab and nivolumab Special Authority data
22 November 2021
Dear [name and contact details withheld]
Request for information
Thank you for your request dated 22 October 2021 under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information relating to pembrolizumab and nivolumab. You requested:
The latest data by month on number of Special Authority’s – initial and renewal for the 2 immunotherapies funded for melanoma in New Zealand, pembrolizumab and nivolumab (as previously received in the attached)
Could I please request this from March 2021 – latest data available?
Pembrolizumab and nivolumab Special Authority data
Following on from our previous response of 2 August 2021 regarding your request for information, please refer below for an update of pembrolizumab and nivolumab Special Authority application numbers. We have included data from the previous request with this response to provide a full 2021-to-date summary of Special Authority applications.
Pembrolizumab - SA1910 & SA2007
| Month submitted | Initial Applications | Approvals - initial | Renewal Applications | Approval - Renewal | Total applications | Total approvals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-01-01 | 24 | 22 | 64 | 59 | 88 | 81 |
| 2021-02-01 | 26 | 24 | 41 | 38 | 67 | 62 |
| 2021-03-01 | 38 | 34 | 66 | 55 | 104 | 89 |
| 2021-04-01 | 22 | 21 | 52 | 50 | 74 | 71 |
| 2021-05-01 | 37 | 33 | 66 | 59 | 103 | 92 |
| 2021-06-01 | 21 | 20 | 51 | 47 | 72 | 67 |
| 2021-07-01 | 28 | 26 | 65 | 61 | 93 | 87 |
| 2021-08-01 | 25 | 25 | 58 | 48 | 83 | 73 |
| 2021-09-01 | 38 | 37 | 47 | 41 | 85 | 78 |
| 2021-10-01 | 24 | 22 | 67 | 56 | 91 | 78 |
Nivolumab - SA1911 & SA2006
| Month submitted | Initial Applications | Approvals - initial | Renewal Applications | Approval - Renewal | Total applications | Total approvals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-01-01 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| 2021-02-01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021-03-01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021-04-01 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2021-05-01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021-06-01 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 2021-07-01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021-08-01 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2021-09-01 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2021-10-01 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
Please note:
- This is an update of the best available data for this period.
- The data provided is a count of Special Authority approvals, not patients. They may not necessarily exactly represent the number of patients being dispensed the relevant medicine in a given period.
- If a patient has had more than one relevant Special Authority approval, they will be counted more than once in this data.
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