Pembrolizumab monthly cost and dispensing data from January 2018 to September 2021
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information relating to pembrolizumab. Thank you for speaking with our team to clarify and confirm the information required for your request on 7 March 2022. You requested:
Monthly cost of dispensing pembrolizumab before and after fixed-dose dispensing change
I am pleased to provide you with information in the below table in response to your request.
Table: Pembrolizumab dispensed in the community by month between 1 January 2018 to 30 September 2021
| Month | Gross cost excl GST | Total units (mg) | Number of unique patients |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2018 | $2,111,747.13 | 44,195 | 194 |
| February 2018 | $1,898,062.99 | 39,749 | 195 |
| March 2018 | $2,143,421.33 | 44,997 | 202 |
| April 2018 | $2,002,632.91 | 42,099 | 201 |
| May 2018 | $2,356,512.60 | 49,239 | 214 |
| June 2018 | $2,176,148.63 | 45,436 | 209 |
| July 2018 | $2,254,639.26 | 47,151 | 213 |
| August 2018 | $2,725,671.94 | 56,900 | 235 |
| September 2018 | $2,545,330.48 | 53,086 | 251 |
| October 2018 | $2,864,398.83 | 59,812 | 252 |
| November 2018 | $2,823,680.49 | 58,741 | 257 |
| December 2018 | $2,602,861.65 | 54,299 | 247 |
| January 2019 | $2,723,081.52 | 56,695 | 250 |
| February 2019 | $2,560,339.18 | 53,432 | 267 |
| March 2019 | $3,017,668.76 | 62,912 | 282 |
| April 2019 | $3,016,533.92 | 62,776 | 285 |
| May 2019 | $3,530,035.29 | 73,208 | 296 |
| June 2019 | $2,849,722.40 | 58,970 | 302 |
| July 2019 | $3,545,430.23 | 73,331 | 313 |
| August 2019 | $3,410,685.99 | 70,523 | 313 |
| September 2019 | $3,456,540.65 | 71,589 | 316 |
| October 2019 | $3,668,221.73 | 75,771 | 321 |
| November 2019 | $3,647,203.88 | 75,419 | 318 |
| December 2019 | $3,544,871.01 | 73,252 | 312 |
| January 2020 | $3,645,975.43 | 75,469 | 312 |
| February 2020 | $3,049,261.26 | 63,303 | 294 |
| March 2020 | $3,073,702.62 | 63,623 | 278 |
| April 2020 | $4,239,694.06 | 86,970 | 277 |
| May 2020 | $3,757,941.84 | 76,808 | 273 |
| June 2020 | $3,124,246.45 | 63,838 | 235 |
| July 2020 | $3,430,709.26 | 70,020 | 254 |
| August 2020 | $3,973,603.28 | 81,041 | 272 |
| September 2020 | $3,424,168.97 | 69,895 | 258 |
| October 2020 | $3,302,858.69 | 67,358 | 254 |
| November 2020 | $3,757,799.13 | 76,787 | 268 |
| December 2020 | $3,798,213.29 | 77,563 | 282 |
| January 2021 | $3,634,930.40 | 74,299 | 256 |
| February 2021 | $2,972,326.60 | 60,785 | 243 |
| March 2021 | $4,204,193.89 | 85,909 | 290 |
| April 2021 | $3,831,677.59 | 78,314 | 273 |
| May 2021 | $3,314,289.56 | 67,703 | 267 |
| June 2021 | $3,664,819.22 | 74,847 | 275 |
| July 2021 | $4,073,935.47 | 83,233 | 296 |
| August 2021 | $3,982,986.70 | 81,509 | 276 |
| September 2021 | $3,659,512.09 | 74,869 | 283 |
| Grand total | $143,392,288.61 | 2,957,723 | 11,961 |
Please note: at the time of data being extracted, we are yet to receive complete data for October to December 2021 PCT[1] data. Therefore, we have not provided those months within the above table.
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.
[1] PCT means a Pharmaceutical listed in Section B of the Schedule that a DHB Hospital Contractor may claim a subsidy payment for, and identified therein as a "PCT" or "PCT only" Pharmaceutical. (https://pharmac.govt.nz/pharmaceutical-schedule/general-rules-section-a/)