Pharmac says funding an expensive but effective cystic fibrosis drug would bring savings to the health system and give patients nearly three decades more of “full health” than current treatments.

In the drug-buying agency’s latest assessment of Trikafta, released on Monday, its Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee (PTAC) has recommended the drug be funded for patients aged 6 and over, with medium priority.

But as the agency told the Health Select Committee in June, funding Trikafta would take almost all it’s new money, so questions remain over whether the advice gets the drug closer to the hands of patients.

In the latest assessment, Pharmac director of operations Lisa Williams said, “if Trikafta were funded, there would be some savings to the health system through the reduction of the need for hospitalisations, lung transplants and supportive care”.

READ MORE:
* Mum and son hold their breath for cystic fibrosis drug Trikafta ahead of Budget
* Cystic fibrosis advocates hand over petition for ‘life-changing’ drug
* Pharmac recommends funding cystic fibrosis medicine Trikafta but needs more funding

“We also estimate that Trikafta could give people with cystic fibrosis who are aged 6 and over a longer and improved quality of life – specifically benefits equivalent to 27 more years at full health when compared to current funded treatments.”

This was based on new evidence and information from supplier Vertex, consumer groups, and health practitioners, Williams said.

It follows months of stalling from PTAC, which in February recommended the drug be funded for those over 12 years-old. That advice disappointed patient advocates, who said it would mean nearly one in five people would miss out.

The latest recommendation has meant Pharmac has re-ranked the drug on its funding wishlist, but it has not said how close it is to the top.

Pharmac has also not said how much the drug would save the health system, with key figures redacted in an economic analysis released on Monday.

The wishlist contains 118 proposals for 75 medicines – with two proposals for Trikafta.

Cystic fibrosis causes lung function to decline over time and can lead to chronic lung infections, liver failure, cirrhosis of the pancreas, risk of diabetes, frequent stays in hospital, and a life expectancy of about mid- to late-30s.

Privately funded, Trikafta costs $330,000 per person per year. Current treatments in New Zealand are largely reliant on patients using nebulisers at home to help to clear mucus from their airways and taking pancreatic enzymes.

Pharmac funds another cystic fibrosis drug called kalydeco but it does not treat as many people.

Pharmac received its largest ever boost at the Budget in May, but told the Health Select Committee in May that funding Trikafta would take almost all it’s new money.

The assessment was “encouraging and reinforces that it continues to be a medicine we want to fund,” Williams said.

Drug safety agency MedSafe has approved Trikafta for use in New Zealand.