To all PHOs 14 December 2022
Kia ora, FundaPen2 finishes but hope on horizon for allergy sufferers The second of Allergy New Zealand’s FundaPen campaigns has now ended. There are no more Allergy New Zealand-funded EpiPens® left, and normal prescription protocols apply for patients at risk of anaphylaxis. Awaiting Pharmac funding decision We are, however, delighted to end this campaign in the knowledge that Pharmac has recently consulted with the public on funding two free adrenaline auto-injectors for every person at risk of anaphylaxis. The results of this consultation have not yet been released but we are keenly awaiting them, following recent announcements about other important drugs that Pharmac has decided to fund. We created and launched FundaPen in 2019 to compel Pharmac and the Ministry of Health to seriously consider funding two adrenaline auto-injectors per year, and all indications are that we may have got it right. It followed eight submissions for Pharmac funding of EpiPens® over the last 15 years. In the current consultation information, it says this is now one of Pharmac’s longest held applications! It is fair to say that it has been a long and hard-fought battle for everyone at Allergy NZ for the last 25 years. During the recent consultation, Allergy NZ responded in full support of the Pharmac proposal, and we hope to soon be working with the agency to ensure there is equity in accessing funded auto-injectors and allergy education needs are met. Thank you – Primary Health Care Professionals! We would not have been able to get this far without the enormous support we have received from the primary care community. Allergy NZ is also grateful to Pub Charity for their foresight in making the FundaPen initiatives possible. The $650,000 donated to the two campaigns has gone a long way to their success. Fingers crossed, together we may have achieved an outstanding Christmas present for the allergy community! Ngā mihi
Mark Dixon CEO ceo@allergy.org.nz