Arthritis drug up for funding

Funding of a "new generation" arthritis drug may be extended to thousands of arthritis and psoriasis sufferers by Pharmac this month.

Pharmac, the Government's drug-funding agency, said Enbrel was funded for juvenile arthritis but an application to fund it for psoriatic arthritis would be considered at this month's meeting of the clinical advisory committee.

Three "new generation" arthritis treatment drugs are available in New Zealand but Pharmac funds only two of them.

The group of drugs is known as TNF-alpha inhibitors, or "biologicals".

"These are new generation drugs that attack the underlying cause of arthritis and can have significant benefits for some people," a Pharmac spokesman said.

The three drugs are different chemicals, but all have the same clinical effect. They are:* Etanercept (Enbrel) - funded in New Zealand; * Adalimumab (Humira) - funded in New Zealand; * Infliximab (Remicade) - not funded in New Zealand.

Arthritis New Zealand chief executive Roger Sowry yesterday called on Pharmac to make Enbrel available to sufferers of various types of arthritis and psoriasis. He said it was available to fewer than 50 New Zealand patients with juvenile chronic arthritis.

The Pharmac spokesman said Enbrel was funded for juvenile arthritis, for children under 18, and Humira was funded for adult rheumatoid arthritis.

Mr Sowry, a former National Party deputy leader, said it was unacceptable that New Zealanders continued to suffer when a treatment that had been proven to be extremely successful was available in Australia and not here.

"It is yet another example of how New Zealand is falling behind in the provision of innovative medicines to patients in real need."

- NZPA