Mepolizumab and omalizumab Special Authority approvals 2020, 2021

OIA response

Thank you for your request dated 25 February 2022 under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information relating to mepolizumab and omalizumab. You requested: 

In relation to the following Special Authority Criteria for omalizumab and mepolizumab (SA1744 – omalizumab & SA1896 – mepolizumab) - the number of initial and renewal applications approved by month and DHB for Severe Eosinophilic Asthma or Severe Asthma, from January 2020 to the most recent available month 

I am pleased to provide you with data for your request within the tables below. 

Table 1.1: Mepolizumab initial and renewal Special Authority application approvals for severe eosinophilic asthma: 2020

  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
Initial       22 15 17 13 18 13 12 10 20 140
Renewal               <10     <10   <10

Table 1.2: Mepolizumab initial and renewal Special Authority application approvals for severe eosinophilic asthma: 2021

  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
Initial <10 10 10 19 19 17 14 12 17 11 23 16 170-180
Renewal     <10 <10 15 <10 19 <10 <10 <10 16 14 103

Table 2.1: Omalizumab initial and renewal Special Authority application approvals for severe asthma: 2020

  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
Initial <10 <10 <10 <10   <10 <10 <10 <10 <10 <10 <10 29
Renewal <10 <10 <10 <10 <10   <10 <10 <10 <10 <10 <10 40

Table 2.2: Omalizumab initial and renewal Special Authority application approvals for severe asthma: 2021

  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
Initial <10 <10 <10 <10 <10 <10     <10   <10 <10 32
Renewal <10 <10 <10 <10 <10 <10 <10 <10 <10 14 <10 <10 58

Please note:

  • Special Authority waivers are not counted in these data.
  • Where fields are blank, this indicates no applications were received in that month.
  • Where fewer than 10 applications were approved, we have changed the number to "<10" as we believe this is necessary to protect the privacy of these people (section 9(2)(a) of the OIA). 

We approach our assessment of requests for information under the OIA on the basis that 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). 

As required under the OIA, we also 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.

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.