PHARMAC makes Xyntha preferred hemophilia treatment

New Zealand's Pharmaceutical Management Agency PHARMAC will have a preferred brand of recombinant Factor VIII, while also maintaining full funding for the other three currently-funded haemophilia products.

The changes, to take effect from September 1 and proposed earlier this year, mean that all funded brands now require minimum levels of stock holding and supply, protecting the availability of hemophilia treatments. Under the changes, Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) Xyntha (moroctocog alfa) will become the preferred brand of Factor VIII. For patients who can’t receive Xyntha for clinical reasons, two other brands will be available through application to a hemophilia treatments panel that PHARMAC will establish and co-ordinate.

Director of operations Sarah Fitt says PHARMAC has looked at the experiences of other countries where similar changes have been safely made. She said: “Similar changes have been successfully introduced in other countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia, without compromising the quality and safety of treatment. There are a number of Factor VIII brands now available worldwide and a growing body of evidence and experience that supports the safety of national brand changes.”