March 31, 2019
Pharmac fudge angers cancer metavivors
A group of women with advanced breast cancer are angry parliament’s health select committee is falsely claiming Pharmac is funding the cancer medicines they need to extend their lives.
In its review of the government drug buying agency released last week, the committee said Ibrance and Kadcyla are funded for people who have not already received another hormonal treatment for metastatic breast cancer.
Malcolm Mulholland, whose wife Wiki is one of the so called metavivors petitioning for the medicines to be funded, says any such decision is still months away – and the committee should know that.
"We’ve already been through these two days of hearings with these metavivors all pleading their case ‘can we please have these two drugs funded’ by the very same committee. The health select committee could very easily put up their hand and say ‘mea culpa, our mistake, we’ll amend the report, end of story.’ But they haven’t and that I think is very very concerning," he says.
Mr Mulholland says the health select committee is falling down on its duty to be a watchdog over the activities of Pharmac and the Minister of Health, and it should conduct a proper audit of the agency rather than accept the conclusions of an internal review.
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