Pharmac's wishlist of drugs could increase four-fold in next two years - advocate

A patient advocate has warned that the number of medications on Pharmac’s wishlist, those it seeks to fund if budget allows, could quadruple within two years. Malcolm Mulholland from Patient Voice Aotearoa highlighted the growing demand for drug approvals, noting that over 100 medications are already listed as potential candidates for funding. He argued that ongoing reforms aimed at streamlining the approval process would likely lead to a rapid expansion of the list, potentially reaching 400 drugs within a year or two. The current backlog includes approximately 190 medicine funding applications waiting for assessment. These applications represent a wide range of treatments, many of which have been submitted by healthcare providers and patients seeking access to newer or more effective therapies. The delay in processing these requests has raised concerns among advocates and clinicians alike, who argue that the system is struggling to keep pace with both the aging population and the increasing number of pharmaceutical innovations. Mulholland emphasized that the situation is likely to worsen unless political action is taken to address the funding gap. “Unless our politicians tackle this issue today,” he stated, “this issue is only going to get worse in a very short space of time.” His comments reflect broader frustrations with the slow pace of decision-making and the limited resources available to evaluate and prioritize new treatments. Pharmac Minister David Seymour acknowledged the challenges outlined by Mulholland. In response, he noted that his government has already increased funding for pharmaceuticals to record levels. “In this government we’ve had record funding increases,” Seymour said. He added that he would continue advocating for further investment in medicine funding during upcoming budget discussions. Dr David Hughes, Pharmac’s chief medical officer and director of advice and assessment, confirmed that the organization is actively working to improve the efficiency of its evaluation processes. He explained that efforts are underway to reduce the time between when an application is accepted and when it is assessed and ranked on the Options for Investment (OFI) list. This includes recruiting additional health economists and expert advisors, as well as testing more streamlined methods for evaluating new medications. Hughes also pointed out that the current backlog of applications reflects the volume of submissions received over the past several years. As the organization works through these cases, the OFI list is expected to expand, allowing more medications to be considered for future funding. “We are focused on reducing the time between an application being accepted and being assessed and ranked on our priority list,” he said. The growing list of potential candidates for funding underscores the tension between the need for timely access to new treatments and the constraints imposed by financial limitations. With the population continuing to age and the rate of pharmaceutical innovation accelerating, the pressure on Pharmac to make difficult choices about which drugs to prioritize will only intensify. Advocates warn that without sustained investment and policy reform, the strain on the system will become unsustainable.