Pharmac denies attack over critical articles

Pharmac has been accused of trying to intimidate the Medical Journal over a series of articles critical of the Government drug-funding agency.

"Pharmac does not like criticism, if the intimidating phone calls and numerous emails I have been receiving from them are anything to go by," says the online journal's editor, Christchurch surgeon Professor Frank Frizelle.

"No doubt in the next few months they will try and undermine what we are doing," he says in the present edition, responding to a Pharmac letter.

On Monday Pharmac denied it was trying to intimidate the journal. Its medical director, Dr Peter Moodie, said the agency welcomed vigorous debate about its actions and its approaches to the journal had been to seek a right of reply to the planned series of 10 articles.

"They had intended, but not told us, that we were going to be able to reply after these articles had been written. We felt that was unfair. We asked if we could have a better right of reply."

Pharmac wanted its responses published as articles and preferably in the same edition as the source article, but was left with having them published as letters in a later edition, Dr Moodie said.

The journal's series follows a political campaign by United Future for changes to Pharmac. The party's leader, Peter Dunne, has said Pharmac policies are leaving many people without the medicines they need. But Pharmac maintains this country has better access to state-paid medicines than some other Western countries.

Health Minister Annette King believes that Pharmac "in the main" serves patients well.

The first article of the journal series accused Pharmac of failing to fulfil the Government policy of reducing Maori smoking. It said this was because Pharmac had not funded Zyban, a quit-smoking drug proven to be helpful to Maori (and others).

Dr Moodie said that to help people stop smoking, Pharmac already funded nicotine patches and gum, and nortriptyline, a drug with similar effectiveness to Zyban's, but much cheaper.

Professor Richard Beasley, one of the authors of the article and the Maori study - which was financed by Zyban maker GlaxoSmithKline after the Health Ministry refused - said Zyban should be funded because it and nortriptyline had different side-effects.

Zyban suited some people for whom nortriptyline was unsafe. The reverse was also true, he said.

Dr Moodie said Pharmac had not decided against Zyban; it was still waiting for further information sought from Glaxo some years ago.

Quit-smoking drugs

* Nortriptyline, and nicotine gum and patches are state-funded.

* Zyban, which is much dearer, is not funded.

* A group of researchers say not funding Zyban is a failure of Pharmac to fulfil Government policy on smoking reduction among Maori, who have high smoking rates.

* But Pharmac says it is fulfilling Government requirements on value for money.