National’s promised cancer treatments: 'Up to 7' funded, 6 replaced

The coalition Government says "up to seven" of the original 13 cancer treatments National promised during the election will be funded, with others to be "replaced by alternatives just as good or better".

It will cost $604 million over four years.

The coalition Government has been criticised by the Opposition and other commentators for not delivering funding for 13 cancer drugs National specifically promised it would fund in the election campaign.

The announcement was made today by Health Minister Shane Reti and Associate Health Minister David Seymour, who is responsible for Pharmac, New Zealand's independent drug-buying agency.

A joint statement released today said the coalition would deliver "up to 26" cancer treatments as part of an overall package of up to 54 more new medicines.

Reti said Pharmac estimated about 175,000 people would benefit from the additional treatments "in just the first year".

He said the Government was today "delivering on the therapies we promised and more" – an "unprecedented and transformative investment in cancer and other treatments".

"Of the 13 cancer treatments listed in [the election campaign], up to seven will be included in the package announced today, and the others will be replaced by alternatives just as good or better.

"This means that not only will treatments for all the cancer types in the pre-election manifesto list be covered, but also a number of other treatments, including for blood cancers and other tumours.

"We are also providing more new medicines for a range of other conditions to improve Kiwis’ health and life outcomes."

Reti said the announcement would allow Pharmac to fund up to 26 cancer treatments and 28 other treatments.

"This will be a mix of new medicines and widened access to medicines that are already available.

“Our reason for this expansion is simple. Increasing access to vital medicines for Kiwis is the right thing to do.

“Pharmac will receive a $604 million funding boost for medicines which is a pre-commitment against next year’s Budget. Further funding to deliver and administer the new treatments will [be] available to Pharmac and Health New Zealand.

“This follows our record $16.68 billion for Vote Health in Budget 2024."

Some of the newly-funded cancer treatments would be available from October or November, with more phased in over the next year, he said.

Seymour said the announcement was what Kiwis wanted: "public money supporting visible frontline services and healthcare for people in need".

"For many New Zealanders, funding for pharmaceuticals is life or death, or the difference between a life of pain and suffering or living freely. It was a priority for this Government to find the additional $1.8 billion to fix the fiscal cliff left by the previous government, and we’re now providing a $604 million uplift to Pharmac to ensure more Kiwis can access life-changing medicines.

“Expanding the package to reach around 175,000 people per year across a range of conditions in its first year is possible through the Pharmac model which gets the best value for New Zealanders, something that’s very important to me.

“This approach allows the Government and Pharmac to act on updated clinical advice, funding new and more effective treatments which have superseded previous options."

The named cancer treatments included in the package were:

The cancer medicines will include treatments for:

Pharmac estimates the proposal would fund 28 other medicines which 'could' treat: