A positive response from Pharmac
On 20 January 2023, we sent Pharmac a letter, signed by all four of New Zealand’s headache specialists, raising concerns about its slow handling of the funding application for erenumab (Aimovig), the (in)appropriateness of their review process and how this would affect the application we made in November 2022, for the funding of galcanezumab (Emgality). […]
What’s wrong with Will Jordan having ‘a migraine’?
What a week! No sooner did the wrath of Cyclone Gabrielle move away from Aotearoa leaving devastation in its wake, than Kiwis were hit with the news that All Blacks and Crusader Will Jordan will miss the start of the Super Rugby season due to “diagnosis of a migraine-related condition.” Coach, Scott Robertson explained further: […]
Pharmac goes around in circles on Aimovig funding application
If you know anything about innovations in migraine treatment, you would have heard of the new migraine-specific medications for prevention of migraine – calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) monoclonal antibodies. They’ve been the first real hope for people with treatment-resistant migraine in many years. They don’t work for everyone, but for some people, they’ve been life-transforming, […]
Emgality advocacy toolkit launched
At the end of November, we submitted a consumer application to Pharmac to fund Emgality (galcanezumab) for the treatment of chronic migraine. Read our press release here To coincide with our application, we’ve developed an Emgality advocacy toolkit. The toolkit is designed to help people in New Zealand support our application and raise awareness of […]
Migraine Foundation submits application to Pharmac to fund Emgality
Press release Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand has submitted a consumer application to Pharmac to fund Emgality (galcanezumab) for the treatment of chronic migraine. Emgality is one of several monoclonal antibody medications that act to block a protein, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which is involved in triggering migraine attacks. CGRP monoclonal antibodies are the first […]
Few people on a benefit for migraine in New Zealand
If you’ve ever wondered how many people in Aotearoa New Zealand are on a benefit with migraine disease, we have some answers, but many more questions. We asked the Ministry of Social Development for the number of people with migraine on a Supported Living Payment (SLP-HCD), or a Jobseeker – Health Condition or Disability (JS-HCD) […]
More migraine data needed in New Zealand
New Zealand has a migraine data issue. The issue is the lack of data on migraine in New Zealand. We rely on estimates from the international Global Burden of Disease study to give us an idea of how common migraine is, because we don’t have up-to-date national statistics. Data from the New Zealand Health Survey […]
Dealing with bad or unsolicited advice about migraine
How many times has someone found out I have migraine and they immediately offer me their solution. I’ve been told: You should get your eyes tested You should try acupuncture You should try Chinese medicine You should try ayurvedic medicine You should try these special supplements, that my wife has a business in You should […]
Shades for Migraine in New Zealand
On 21 June we joined with many other organisations and advocates to help raise awareness of migraine disease. We encouraged people in New Zealand to post photos of themselves, their family, their pets, their colleagues, wearing a pair of sunglasses for the global social media campaign Shades for Migraine, run by the Association of Migraine […]
Pharmac responds to our erenumab funding feedback
Pharmac responds to our feedback we submitted in April following PTAC’s recommendation that erenumab be funded, but with a low priority. Last week we received a reply from Pharmac regarding the feedback we submitted following the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee (PTAC) recommendation that erenumab (Aimovig) be funded, but with a low priority and only […]
