Talking continues on 'wonder drug' Glivec

8.00pm - by FRANCESCA MOLD and NZPA

The anti-leukaemia drug Glivec will be made available to New Zealand sufferers within four months if an agreement over its cost can be reached with the drug's supplier.

Pharmac chief executive Wayne McNee said today that discussions with Glivec's manufacturer, Novartis, were going well. Once a deal was reached, sufferers would only have a wait a few months for Glivec, described by some doctors as a "wonder drug".

There has been an ongoing row over the unwillingness of Pharmac, the Government's drug-buying agency, to fund the drug, which can cost up to $100,000 a year per patient.

Health officials announced this week that the Australian Government had decided to fund Glivec for all the country's chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) patients.

Doctors and Opposition politicians in New Zealand have been questioning why the same decision has not not made here.

Described as a breakthrough in the treatment of CML, Glivec works by targeting cancer cells while leaving normal ones alone.

Clinical trials have shown that Glivec is nearly three times more effective than the standard treatment of interferon alpha and chemotherapy and it is estimated that up to 90 New Zealand patients a year could benefit from taking it.

A row over the funding of the drug developed in Parliament today when Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia struggled to answer questions on the issue.

She refused to answer one question from the Opposition about concerns that New Zealand was one of the only developed countries not funding Glivec.

Ms Turia said she did not have delegated responsibility for drug funding.

The Opposition responded angrily to her reply and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the Government had given Mrs Turia responsibility for answering questions on behalf of Health Minister Annette King, who was absent.

She had at least four hours before Parliament's question time in which to seek a briefing on the issue, he said.

Ms Turia also refused to confirm a statement last year by Ms King that New Zealand could not afford a health system like wealthier nations.

"She [Act MP Heather Roy] is asking me to stand by a comment that was made by somebody else and I'm not prepared to do it."

Further reading
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