Whakatāne liver cancer patient welcomes new Pharmac funding for life-extending drugs

Whakatāne man Rhys Drayson, pictured in 2019, has terminal cancer but says being part of a trial for drugs that are soon to be funded by Pharmac has extended his life.

A Whakatāne man with terminal cancer says he has outlived his life expectancy after joining a trial for cancer drugs that will be funded in New Zealand from next month.

Rhys Drayson was diagnosed with liver cancer in March 2022. He said he was told in November 2023 he had six to 12 months to live.

Drayson started taking cancer drugs atezolizumab with bevacizumab in December 2023 after being accepted for a clinical trial.

Since starting treatment, “I have lived a full and very positive life and have suffered very few side effects”.

Pharmac confirmed on February 12 it would start funding atezolizumab and bevacizumab for liver cancer that could not be removed by surgery from March 1.

The agency also confirmed funding for new medicines for advanced ovarian cancer and neuroendocrine cancers.

“These medicines will give people more treatment options and help them to live well for longer,” Pharmac equity and engagement director Dr Nicola Ngawati said.

About 180 people were expected to benefit from the medicines in the next year, she said.

In 2023, the National Party campaigned on funding 13 cancer treatments available in Australia but not New Zealand, paid for by bringing back the $5 prescription fee. This included atezolizumab with bevacizumab for liver cancer.

Last May the Government said funding would not be available for at least another year.

Pharmac said it has now funded or proposed to fund 10 of the original 13 specific medicines, and a minister said treatments for all cancer types on the list have been funded.

‘Long-awaited announcement’

Drayson told the Bay of Plenty Times in November his health was “wonderful” and he had a “great” quality of life. He said if not for the trial, self-funding the drugs would have cost him more than $100,000 a year.

“We really need these drugs funded. They are making such a huge difference to me and there are such limited options for people with HCC [hepatocellular carcinoma] – why should Kiwis miss out on what patients in other countries get as standard treatment?”

Drayson said following this month’s “long-awaited” announcement he had “mixed feelings”.

“Firstly, my thoughts go out to the lives that have been lost due to the delay with the publicly funded access to this treatment.”

For those now able to access the treatment, he said all he could say was that it had extended his life beyond the up to 12 months he was given.

Drayson encouraged the Government to fund the remaining drugs National originally campaigned on.

Rhys Drayson started taking cancer drugs atezolizumab with bevacizumab in December 2023 after being accepted for a clinical trial. These drugs will be publicly funded from March 1. Photo / Supplied

In a press release, Gut Cancer Foundation chief executive Liam Willis said the funding marked a “significant step forward” for liver cancer patients and their families.

Willis said atezolizumab and bevacizumab had been “the global standard of care” for advanced HCC for several years.

“New Zealand patients have had to self-fund these life-saving therapies or miss out altogether.

“While we celebrate this milestone, we must also acknowledge that every delay in funding costs lives.”

The foundation had been working with clinical colleagues and patients to advocate for access to the treatment, and it was grateful to Pharmac for listening and acting.

Pharmac, Seymour respond

Pharmac’s director of pharmaceuticals Geraldine MacGibbon said it was pleased atezolizumab with bevacizumab had been funded for New Zealanders with liver cancer that could not be removed by surgery.

“Having these medicines available will make a significant difference to people’s lives.”

MacGibbon said Pharmac valued engagement with consumer groups such as the Gut Cancer Foundation throughout the funding process.

Pharmac understood having these medicines available as soon as possible was important, she said.

“One of the hardest parts of Pharmac’s work is deciding which medicines to fund from our fixed budget when we know there are more medicines that would benefit New Zealanders.

“When the budget increase was announced in June 2024, we let people know that we’d be looking to stretch the additional budget as much as we could.”

In the past seven months, Pharmac had funded or proposed to fund 57 medicines for various types of cancer and other health conditions. This included 10 of the 13 types of cancer in the original list of cancer medicines identified in 2023, MacGibbon said.

Consultations would be released in the next few months, she said.

Associate Minister for Health David Seymour said the Government had allocated Pharmac its largest-ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, plus a $604 million uplift, so it could negotiate the best deals for medicines for New Zealanders.

“Pharmac continues to show what it is capable of when given the support it needs.

“Since the Budget, Pharmac has funded treatments for all the cancer types in the pre-election list, as well as a number of other treatments for blood cancers and other tumours.”

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.