Making more new cancer treatments available for New Zealanders

Pharmac—Te Pātaka Whaioranga is consulting on a proposal to fund the medicine lenvatinib for three types of cancer and has also issued a Request for Tender (RFT) to secure the supply of another cancer medicine, bevacizumab.

“If Pharmac approves funding for these medicines, they have the potential to benefit hundreds of people with cancer,” says Dr David Hughes, Pharmac’s Chief Medical Officer.

Lenvatinib can treat kidney, thyroid, and liver cancer and, if approved, would be funded from 1 December 2024.

Bevacizumab is currently used in hospitals to treat some non-cancer conditions, but it can also be used for different types of cancer, for example, liver and ovarian cancer. Pharmac has told suppliers to aim for April 2025, or earlier, to have this medicine available if approved.

“It’s great that we’re now in a position to get feedback on our lenvatinib proposal, and progress a competitive process for bevacizumab,” says Dr David Hughes.

More information about these medicines, including how to provide feedback on lenvatinib, is on the Pharmac website.

This funding decision is part of the package of additional funding which the Government allocated to Pharmac in June.