Heart and lung charity backs Pharmac move, presses for broader access to heart medicines

Thousands of New Zealanders with high cholesterol will get faster, easier access to one of the most effective statins on the market — no more red tape, no more waiting – a move welcomed by the Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation NZ.

From October 1, Pharmac has decided to remove all restrictions on rosuvastatin tablets scrapping the Special Authority process that has long stood between patients and this potent – and very effective – cholesterol-lowering medicine.

Foundation Cardiac Medical Director Dr Andrew Chatfield welcomed the move, but noted there is still more to be done to improve access to cardiovascular drugs in New Zealand.

“For patients who had not reached their cholesterol target on other statins, we had to go through this long process to get rosuvastatin.

“This change now means that clinicians can prescribe it as soon as it’s the right choice – no forms, no delays,” he says.

“Having this statin available without restriction offers a real chance at better protection against heart attack and stroke.”

However, there are still a number of heart medications that are unavailable, Dr Chatfield says.

“We understand that budget comes into play, but with one in five Kiwis dying each year from heart disease, it makes sense to be investing in the cardiac space.”

Rosuvastatin a type of medicine, known as a statin. Statins help reduce the levels of total cholesterol, ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, and are used to prevent heart attacks in high-risk patients and reduce cholesterol in patients with high cholesterol.

Because it works more effectively at lower doses than other funded statins, many patients see a bigger drop in cholesterol on rosuvastatin.

Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding says this move shows that medicines funding can follow the evidence when it needs to.

“This is what patients and clinicians have been asking for – funding that follows the evidence, not the paperwork.

“It’s a genuine win for anyone managing high cholesterol, and for the wider fight against cardiovascular disease in New Zealand," she says.

“But we’d like to see this kind of access become the rule rather than the exception – there are still too many effective medicines sitting behind unnecessary restrictions.”

Heart disease kills 1 in 5 New Zealanders each year.

Around 76,000 people currently take funded rosuvastatin and Pharmac expects an extra 65,000 to access it in the first year alone, rising to 108,000 within five years.