Each year, Pharmac gives pharmaceutical suppliers the opportunity to bid for being the ‘main supplier’ (up to 95%) for a range of medicines. This is called the ‘annual tender’ and means that a medicine currently supplied by one company may switch to a different branded product (e.g. the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen in the past has been supplied as Nurofen, Brufen or Advil, depending on which company won the tender). This competitive process can mean cost savings for Pharmac (savings that can be invested in new treatments) and helps maintain a secure supply of medicines.
This year, several medicines on the annual tender list can be used in the treatment of migraine. They include:
- amitriptyline (current funded brand is Arrow-Amitriptyline) 10mg, 25mg and 50mg tablets – used for migraine prevention
- metoprolol (current funded brand is Myloc CR) long-acting 20-25mg, 40-50mg, 90-100mg, 180-200mg tablets – used for migraine prevention
- metoclopramide (current funded brand is Metoclopramide-Actavis) 10mg tablets – used to treat nausea and vomiting
- prochlorperazine (current brand Nausafix) 5mg tablets – used to treat nausea and vomiting.
The tender process does not mean that all or any of these medications will change brands, but it is possible that one or more of them may.
Pharmac is seeking feedback on whether a change to the brand of any of these medicines would affect you and what should be done to minimise the impact of a brand change. They have also asked if there any other important features about the medicine that Pharmac should consider.
We have already provided feedback on prochlorperazine. The 3mg ‘buccal’ (administered inside the cheek) version of prochlorperazine can be absorbed through the mouth and bypasses the stomach. This is very useful for migraine attacks accompanied by vomiting or delayed stomach emptying (which occurs very commonly in migraine) and is a significant advantage over many other anti-nausea medications. Currently, this is subject to a part charge but we would like to see it fully funded.
If you have any concerns about these potential brand changes with respect to migraine treatment, do put in a submission or email us and we’ll add it to the submission that we will make (info@migrainefoundation.org.nz).
All feedback must be given by 4pm Monday May 4th.
Visit Pharmac’s website for more information about the consultation, the list of medications and details on how to make a submission.
