Adalimumab data

12 December 2019

[name and contact details redacted]

Dear [name redacted]

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Thank you for your request dated 15 November 2019 under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information relating to adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab and secukinumab.  You asked for:

• “Alimumab, etanercept, infliximab and secukinumab data” from 28 June 2019 be updated with the most recent Special Authority data.

Please note that we have interpreted your reference to alimumab as adalimumab.

Please find the information you requested in the attached spreadsheet. [XLSX, 18 KB] The data provided show all the Special Authority approvals in the time period from 1 May 2019 to 31 October 2019, for all the funded indications mentioned in your request. 

Where patient numbers are less than 10, we have not stated the exact number. This is in order to be able to provide the information to you, whilst taking into account privacy considerations. We consider this is necessary to protect the privacy of natural persons (section 9(2)(a)).

As required under the OIA, we considered whether, in the circumstances, the withholding of this information was outweighed by other considerations which render it desirable, in the public interest, to make this information available.  In this case we did not consider that the public interest outweighed the reasons for withholding the information. 

Please note you have the right, by way of complaint under section 28(3) of the OIA to an Ombudsman, to seek an investigation and review of our decision.

PHARMAC approaches its assessment of requests for information under the OIA on the basis that, once released, the information becomes publicly available. In other words, once we release the information to you it becomes available to any other party in that exact form (whether by you distributing it to others or by virtue of us receiving the same request from a different third party). 

We trust that this information answers your queries.  We are making our information more freely available, so we will 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

Alison Hill
Director, Engagement and Implementation