Ronapreve in New Zealand was approved for the treatment of patients who are badly affected by Covid-19. Photo / AP
Pharmac says it will seek advice from experts regarding the effectiveness of a drug used to treat Covid-19 as the new Covid-19 variant sweeps the globe.
On Tuesday, Medsafe approved a new medicine, Ronapreve, for treating Covid-19 though.
But research is now focusing on its effectiveness against the Omicron variant.
Pharmac's Chief Executive Sarah Fitt said tocilizumab and remdesivir are currently being used in New Zealand hospitals, and a stock of baricitinib has been secured.
Advance purchase agreements have also been negotiated for Ronapreve, molnupiravir and Pfizer's antiviral treatment.
Fitt said Ronapreve, known as Regeneron in the United States is "successful in treating those with the Delta strain of Covid-19". But said evidence for Omicron is less clear.
"The evidence is less clear for Omicron, and we plan to seek advice from our Covid-19 clinical expert advisory group about that in the new year."
Ronapreve, produced by Roche, belongs to a class of medicines called monoclonal antibodies, or mAbs.
They mimic the natural antibodies that the immune system makes to fight disease. Pharmac has secured enough Ronapreve to treat 5300 people, with "medium-to-severe" symptoms. MedSafe is still assessing the application.
For more than a year Renapreve has been used as go-to treatments for early Covid-19, in the United States.
However, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. recently warned that laboratory testing suggests their therapies will be much less potent against Omicron.
While the companies say they can quickly develop new omicron-targeting antibodies, those aren't expected to launch for at least several months.
In late October, the Government announced that Pharmac had already secured access to enough doses of Ronapreve to be able to treat 5300 people and expects to be able to buy more next year.
Pharmac is working towards securing access to further treatment, Fitt said.
However, she could not comment on further information about the additional Covid-19 treatments and said information would be released once deals are completed.
Medsafe Group manager Chris James said Ronapreve was approved for the treatment of patients who are badly affected by Covid-19 and who were at more risk of their illness becoming severe.
It is also approved for preventing Covid-19 in people who have been exposed to the virus and have a medical condition that makes them unlikely to be protected by vaccination.
However, the drug is not approved for use in children.
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said it is keeping a close eye on the new strain.
Omicron is a new strain and as with any emerging developments to do with Covid-19, we are closely watching and monitoring evidence and countries' responses."
"As more evidence emerges, we will continue to assess the risk posed to New Zealand and make changes to our response where necessary."
- Additional reporting by RNZ and AP
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