Schedule Dispatches

This is an early notification of the changes to be announced in the Update to the Pharmaceutical Schedule.

The full Update is available as a PDF(external link)

The changes will be published in the online Schedule around the 23^rd of this month and are effective from next month.

For any questions about these listing changes or the Pharmaceutical Schedule in general, email us at enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz

17 April 2025 | May 2025 Pharmaceutical Schedule Dispatch

New Listings

• Continuous glucose monitor (standalone) (Freestyle Libre 2 Plus) sensor (Freestyle Libre 2 Plus) – Special Authority – Retail Pharmacy, only on a prescription, maximum of 6 dev per prescription, maximum of 28 dev will be funded per year (p’code 2701839)
• Enteral feed 1.5kcal/ml (Nutrison Energy) liquid, 1,000 ml bottle, 1 OP – Special Authority – Hospital pharmacy [HP3] (p’code 2703289)
• Enteral feed 1kcal/ml (Nutrison RTH) liquid, 1,000 ml bottle, 1 OP – Special Authority – Hospital pharmacy [HP3] (p’code 2703262)
• Enteral feed with fibre 1kcal/ml (Nutrison Multi Fibre) liquid, 1,000 ml bottle, 1 OP – Special Authority – Hospital pharmacy [HP3] (p’code 2703270)
• Enteral feed with fibre 1.5kcal/ml (Nutrison Energy Multi Fibre) liquid, 1,000 ml bottle, 1 OP – Special Authority – Hospital pharmacy [HP3] (p’code 2703297)
• Fentanyl (Fentanyl Sandoz) patch 12 mcg per hour – only on a controlled drug form, no patient co-payment payable, safety medicine; prescriber may determine dispensing frequency (p’code 2688824)
• Gentamicin sulphate (Gentamicin Hikma) inj 10 mg per ml, 2 ml ampoule – subsidy by endorsement, section 29 and wastage claimable (p’code 2705435)
• Insulin degludec with insulin aspart (Ryzodeg 70/30 Penfill) inj degludec 70 u with insulin aspart 30 u, 100 u per ml, 3 ml (p’code 2704471)
• Itraconazole (Itraconazole Cresent) cap 100 mg – section 29 and wastage claimable (p’code 2705109)
• Pharmacy service (BSF Ipca-Hydroxychloroquine (p’code 2704676), BSF Modafinil Max Health (p’code 2704684) and BSF Pazopanib Teva (p’code 2704692)) brand switch fee – may only be claimable once per patient
• Phytomenadione (Konakion MM) inj 2 mg per 0.2 ml – up to 5 inj available on a PSO (p’code 2703572)
• Upadacitinib (Rinvoq) tab modified-release 30 mg (p’code 2635046) and 45 mg (p’code 2682206) – Special Authority – Retail pharmacy

Changes to restrictions, chemical names and presentations

• Azacitidine inj 100 mg vial (Azacitidine Dr Reddy’s) and inj 1 mg for ECP (Baxter) – amended Special Authority criteria
• Hydroxychloroquine sulphate (Ipca-Hydroxychloroquine) tab 200 mg – addition of brand switch fee
• Hyoscine hydrobromide (Scopolamine Transdermal System Viatris) patch 1 mg per 72 hours – amended brand name
• Ibrutinib (Imbruvica) tab 140 mg and 420 mg – amended Special Authority criteria
• Levonorgestrel (Jadelle) subdermal implant (2 x 75 mg) – amended PSO quantity
• Modafinil (Modafinil Max Health) tab 100 mg – addition of brand switch fee
• Oxycodone hydrochloride (Oxycodone Lucis) oral liq 1 mg per ml – addition of wastage claimable
• Pazopanib (Pazopanib Teva) tab 200 mg and 400 mg – addition of brand switch fee
• Secukinumab (Cosentyx) inj 150 mg per ml, 1 ml prefilled syringe – amended Special Authority criteria
• Upadacitinib (Rinvoq) tab modified-release 15 mg – amended presentation description
• Upadacitinib (Rinvoq) tab modified-release 15mg, 30 mg and 45 mg – amended Special Authority criteria
• Venlafaxine (Enlafax XR) cap 37.5 mg, 75 mg and 150 mg – re-instate stat dispensing
• Venetoclax (Venclexta) tab 14 × 10 mg, 7 × 50 mg, 21 × 100 mg, 10 mg, 50 mg and 100 mg – amended Special Authority criteria

Increased subsidy

Chemical	Presentation	Fully subsidised brands
Alginic acid	Sodium alginate 225 mg and magnesium alginate 87.5 mg per sachet	Gaviscon Infant
Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine	inj 40 mg per ml, vial	SII-Onco-BCG
Fluticasone propionate	Metered aqueous nasal spray, 50 mcg per dose, 120 dose OP	Flixonase Hayfever & Allergy
Solifenacin succinate	Tab 5 mg	Solifenacin Viatris

Decreased subsidy

Chemical	Presentation	Fully subsidised brands
Adalimumab (Humira – alternative brand)	Inj 20 mg per 0.2 ml prefilled syringe Inj 40 mg per 0.4 ml prefilled pen Inj 40 mg per 0.4 ml prefilled syringe	Humira   HumiraPen   Humira
Mitomycin C	Inj 5 mg vial	Accord