Pharmac vows to protect patients

By MARTIN JOHNSTON

Doctors remain worried that many patients taking anti-depressants may suffer under cuts to the drugs' subsidies - despite Government assurances.

The medical director of the Government drug-funder Pharmac, Dr Peter Moodie, said it was discussing the changes with health workers and would ensure that vulnerable patients were protected when subsidy cuts began in February. He accused the Medical Association of scaremongering after it said tens of thousands of people with depression and anxiety disorders might suffer under the changes.

The anti-depressant Prozac and its equivalent Lovan, taken by about 64,000 people, cost taxpayers $8 million a year.

Prozac comes off patent in January and a generic version, Flutene, will be available at a 60 per cent lower price.

"This is good news for the taxpayer," said Dr Moodie, "and it frees up funds to purchase other drugs."

The lower price will become the level of the Pharmac subsidy for most drugs in that class and, unless their makers match it, their users face surcharges.

Dr Laszlo Szabo, New Zealand manager of Prozac manufacturer Eli Lilly, said it was too early to tell whether the company would cut the price of the drug, the world's most popular anti-depressant. Pharmac says Flutene is clinically equivalent to Prozac.

Medical Association chairwoman Dr Pippa MacKay said the thousands of patients taking drugs in the same class as Prozac, such as Cipramil and Aropax, could suffer from being financially forced on to Flutene. "It's quite possible to have a patient not able to tolerate one but able to tolerate and benefit from another," she said.

Pharmac said the 34,000 users of Aropax would not be affected by the price changes because of a previous contract between the agency and manufacturer.