Cancer specialists and patients with advanced melanoma are celebrating the recent announcement that three potentially life-saving skin cancer medicines will be funded starting from 1 June.
Pharmac, the state drug-buying agency, revealed on Friday that it will be funding more medicines for individuals with late-stage skin cancer (stage 3B to stage 4 melanoma).
The decision includes expanding access to pembrolizumab (Keytruda), as well as funding dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) for the first time.
Geraldine MacGibbon, the director of pharmaceuticals at Pharmac, stated that this move will benefit 285 people by preventing their cancer from spreading or recurring.
Trustee of Melanoma NZ and oncologist, Dr. Rosalie Stephens, expressed her approval of the decision, emphasizing that the drugs are “both life-saving and life-extending.”
“This news will come as a huge relief to New Zealanders with melanoma, as they are well-aware of the impact of these medicines globally. Stakeholders have been advocating for this decision for some time, so there will be a sense of relief both psychologically and financially,” Dr. Stephens commented.
One Auckland resident, Fin Bergin, who was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in September 2024, acknowledged the significant difference that the funding will make in his life.
Having paid for the immunotherapy medicine combination of dabrafenib and trametinib out of pocket, Bergin expressed his relief, stating, “This funded treatment will ease my biggest stress since my diagnosis, which has been financial.”
Dr. Stephens highlighted the ten-year journey it took to get some of these medicines funded, noting the anxiety felt by cancer specialists due to the gap compared to other health systems like Australia and the UK.
“Despite the frustration, the engagement with Pharmac in the past year has been positive. We have seen improvements in the transparency of the process, and we hope that this positive trend continues,” Dr. Stephens mentioned.
Minister of Health, Simeon Brown, acknowledged that the recent announcement aligns with National’s campaign promise to boost Pharmac funding to cover 13 additional cancer treatments, a goal that will be achieved starting from 1 June.
