Consultation on the draft 2026/27: Invitation to Tender for healthcare professionals

Overview

Pharmac | Te Pātaka Whaioranga is seeking feedback from healthcare professionals, medical groups, hospital pharmacies, and other interested parties on the draft 2026/27 Invitation to Tender.

Pharmac runs the annual Invitation to Tender (“the annual tender”) process every year. It helps keep medicines affordable and make the best use of available funding. Savings from the tender are reinvested in the medicines budget, helping fund new treatments and improve access to funded medicines.

We are seeking feedback on the draft 2026/27 Invitation to Tender (ITT). The list of medicines proposed for inclusion in the 2026/27 ITT is still under development and may change before the final 2026/27 ITT is issued. We’re particularly interested in feedback on the following questions:

• Whether a brand change for any of the medicines included in the draft tender list would not be appropriate, and why?
• Whether Pharmac should delay or avoid a brand change for any of these medicines and, if so, why?
• Are there any features of the medicines that we should consider when evaluating them?
• What are the potential benefits, issues, or consequences of dispensing 3 months’ supply of any of these medicines at once?
• For medicines tendered for “current access” and “widened access”, are there potential benefits, issues, or consequences if we removed any funding restrictions from the medicine (such as Special Authority criteria)?
• Which medicines, indications (uses), or population groups might need an alternative brand if a brand change were to occur and why?
• Are the proposed Additional Special Terms for somatropin injections appropriate?

We welcome any other feedback you may wish to provide. Please contact us if you wish to discuss anything in this consultation.

We are also seeking feedback from the industry and people who take medicines.

• Industry consultation(external link)
• Consumer consultation(external link)

Please share this consultation with others who you think might be interested. We want to hear feedback from a range of people.

About the tender

Pharmac’s annual tender is used to contract for supply of medicines. Most of these medicines are already funded in New Zealand and are no longer under patent.

The tender helps to secure the ongoing supply of medicines and generate savings. These savings can be used to fund new medicines. Each year, some of the medicines on the Pharmaceutical Schedule (the list of funded medicines) are included in the annual tender. Although the tender is run annually, the list of medicines included in it changes from year to year. Typically, each medicine is tendered every three years.

Before we run the tender each year, we seek feedback from healthcare professionals, consumer groups, the pharmaceutical industry and the public. This can tell us if:

• tendering is appropriate for each medicine
• there are any potential issues when considering a change in brand for a particular medicine.

We get expert advice from Pharmac’s Tender Clinical Advisory Committee(external link) on every tender decision we make. The committee is made up of healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists as well as a consumer representative. We’ll also seek additional advice from specialists in particular fields, such as cancer or mental health, as needed.

The feedback and advice we receive makes sure our decisions support New Zealanders to live longer, healthier lives.

Consultation on possible brand changes through the Invitation to Tender

Pharmac will undertake further consultation on potential brand changes following the closure and assessment of bids for the 2026/27 ITT, where a brand change is being considered. This consultation is intended to help us better understand what a brand change could mean for people and how we can best support any potential change.

For more information on why and how this consultation is undertaken, please refer to the 2026 consultation on possible brand changes(external link) through the annual tender.

What the tender means

If we award a tender for a medicine to a pharmaceutical supplier, then that supplier’s brand becomes the principal funded brand of that medicine. It would likely be the only brand of that medicine funded on the Pharmaceutical Schedule (Principal Supply Status). For this tender round, Principal Supply Status would be in place until 30 June 2030. Principal Supply Status means that if a supplier is selected, they become the main supplier of that medicine in New Zealand with a guaranteed supply of up to 95% of the total funded market.

When Pharmac makes decisions to award a tender, there are three main outcomes, as summarised below.

If the awarded brand is already the only funded brand

There would be no noticeable change for people using the medicine, although the price of the medicine may change.

If a different brand is awarded the tender

People using this medicine would need to move to the brand that has been awarded the tender over time. This usually happens over five months. After this, the other brand(s) would no longer be funded by Pharmac.

If the medicine is not currently funded

The new medicine would be funded and listed on the Pharmaceutical Schedule, with the brand awarded the tender becoming the main funded brand.

Access to other brands if a tender is awarded to a new brand

Most people will start on, or move to, the new brand easily. However, we understand that people’s experiences when taking medicines may be different. We use an “alternative brand allowance” (ABA) to support people who may experience, or are at heightened risk of, adverse outcomes from a brand change. This may mean:

• moving back to the old brand after adverse side effects
• having a longer period to change brands
• allowing some people to avoid switching altogether.

The structure of the tender gives Pharmac the flexibility to fund alternative brands in different ways. For example:

• in hospitals, we would use the alternative brand allowance provisions in the Schedule. This lets hospitals purchase alternative brands up to a certain percent of volume, typically 5 percent.
• in the community, alternative brands could be funded through listing (or maintaining the listing of) other brands under Special Authority criteria, or
• managing case-by case approvals through our Exceptional Circumstances framework.

While Pharmac can fund alternative brands, continued supply of a particular alternative brand cannot always be guaranteed. It is helpful to understand what medicines might need access to alternative brands before we run the tender.

We are keen to understand:

• which medicines, indications, or population groups might need funding for an alternative brand, and if so, why?
• are there any particular features of the medicines that we should be considering when evaluating potential medicines?

Other potential changes

The tender can result in substantial price reductions, and we can use the savings to fund new medicines. We also use the savings to fund changes to the tendered medicines. For example:

• we might change or remove funding restrictions so more people can use it (for example, a Special Authority restriction, endorsement, or prescriber-type restriction). We might consult on this separately before making a decision
• if the medicine is currently partially funded, it could become fully funded if the tender were awarded
• we might change the amount of medicine that could be dispensed at a time – for example we might let people collect three months’ supply of medicine at a time instead of one month
• some medicines or formulations may become funded for the first time through the tender.

We are interested in your feedback on potential changes for the medicines we are tendering. You can see the Pharmaceutical Schedule for all dispensing and funding restrictions:

Pharmaceutical Schedule

Additional Special Terms

We have included Additional Special Terms in the draft 2026/27 ITT contract [PDF, 1 MB] for somatropin injections. This clause would require any potential suppliers to offer education, training and support resources to patients and healthcare professionals, and related products required for the safe handling and use of the supplier’s somatropin product (such as associated devices, needles, needle clippers, sharps bins).

The Additional Special Terms for somatropin can be found in the draft 2026/27 ITT contract [PDF, 1 MB] and are also outlined below. Any feedback on these Additional Special Terms would be useful to inform the final contract.

Somatropin

You will provide the following resources and related products at no cost for the Pharmaceutical somatropin:

• Providing education, training and support resources to endocrinologists, paediatric endocrinologists, nurses, pharmacies and patients.
• The resources shall be provided to all endocrinologists, paediatric endocrinologists, nurses, pharmacies and patients in New Zealand or when requested by any relevant party.
• The resources will be provided to patients when their prescription is filled and directly to all endocrinologists, paediatric endocrinologists, nurses and pharmacies before the start of the Principal Supply Period.
• The provision of related products for your proposed brand of somatropin for the benefit of patients. The related products will be delivered to the nominated delivery address of the prescribed patient.

For the purposes of this clause:

“resources” shall include but not be limited to the:

• Providing patient training and medical education and support for endocrinologists, paediatric endocrinologists, nurses and pharmacies on the use of somatropin devices, including a requirement for clinical educators to talk specifically with patients and for an 0800 number to be available for patients to contact with any further queries;
• Provision of training materials (DVDs, pamphlets, leaflets, brochures) to new patients;
• Providing presentations and/or demonstrations on the use of somatropin devices to patients and/or healthcare professionals; and

“Related products”, which shall be inclusive of the replacement of any defective related product, shall include but not be limited to devices, needles, needle clippers, sharps bins, and other products which are required for the safe treatment of your brand of somatropin.

The tender list

See Schedule Two: Products to be tendered (draft, by therapeutic group) for the list of medicines that we are proposing to include in this year’s tender. Medicines have been grouped according to the therapeutic group classification system used in the Pharmaceutical Schedule.

Below is a list of these groups, and the corresponding page numbers. Medicines with multiple indications only appear in one group.

Therapeutic group	Pages
Alimentary Tract and Metabolism	10 - 11
Blood and Blood Forming Organs	11
Cardiovascular System	11 - 13
Dermatologicals	13 - 16
Genito-Urinary System	16
Hormone Preparations	16 - 18
Infections	18 - 20
Musculoskeletal System	20 - 21
Nervous System	21 - 23
Oncology and Immunosuppressants	23 - 24
Respiratory	24
Sensory Organs	25 - 26
Various	26

Information provided for each medicine

For each medicine (as defined by chemical name, form, and strength), we have provided where applicable:

• the current subsidy paid per unit (e.g. capsule, tablet, injection) as of 1 July 2026. These values are ex-manufacturer excluding GST
• the number of units funded in the community per year in the year ending 30 June 2026. These may be partially funded or full funded
• an estimate of the annual community market value based on the current subsidy paid per unit. This is estimated by multiplying the volume of units used in the year ending 30 June 2026 by the current listed unit subsidy as of 1 July 2026
• comments specifically relating to the tender item and/or its current listing on the Pharmaceutical Schedule
• please note that these volumes and figures are approximate and indicative only. Pharmac makes no representation as to the accuracy of these volumes and figures or the level of sales or likely sales of any tender item.

Explanation of terms, symbols, and abbreviations

“Tab” means tablet, “cap” means capsule, “liq” means liquid, “inj” means injection, “suppos” means suppository, “grans” mean granules and “OP” means original pack to be dispensed.

Symbols used in the draft tender list:

Symbol	Explanation
Underlined	Tender items where there is currently a principal supply contract are underlined. The price and subsidy for these items are fixed until 30 June 2027 unless otherwise stated in the comments column, therefore a listing of a new brand could only occur after that date.
C	To be tendered for Principal Supply Status (community medicines).
H	To be tendered for Principal Supply Status (hospital medicines).
PCT	Pharmaceuticals Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora hospitals may claim a subsidy through Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule.
+	Pharmac has been advised of the existence of a patent.
*	There is no fully funded medicine available for this tender item (in relation to community supply).
@	Additional Stock Pharmaceuticals (ASP). The supplier of the successful tender bid would be required to hold additional stock.
#	A rebate currently exists.

Key dates

Thursday 30 July 2026 – Consultation begins

Thursday 10 September 2026 – Consultation closes

September 2026 –Tender Clinical Advisory Committee meets

Late October/Early November 2026 – Final Invitation to Tender issued

December 2026 – Invitation to Tender closes

January 2027 – Earliest tender results announced

April 2027- Potential brand change consultation is released

May 2027– Earliest listing of new brands

Providing feedback

Please provide feedback using one of the options below by Thursday 10 September 2026.

All feedback received before the closing date will be considered by Pharmac’s Board or its delegate prior to finalising the 2026/27 Invitation to Tender.

Option 1 – Feedback form

Use the feedback form(external link). Each feedback form is limited to five medicines. This helps us ensure that your feedback is accurately recorded and considered. You are welcome to submit multiple feedback forms. Each form takes approximately 5 – 10 minutes and will automatically be sent to us once you have completed it.

Option 2 – Feedback upload (Excel)

For people providing feedback on multiple medicines, you may find it easiest to:

1. Download the Excel template [XLSX, 35 KB]
2. Enter your feedback
3. Send us the Excel spreadsheet by uploading the template through the feedback form(external link)

Your feedback may be shared

When you give feedback on a consultation, your feedback becomes official information that Pharmac holds. Pharmac has legal responsibilities for how we manage this official information, under laws such as the Official Information Act and Privacy Act.

Pharmac may receive a request from people for official information, which could include your feedback. Legally, Pharmac must consider whether your feedback should be released. Tell us if there is anything about your feedback that you would prefer wasn’t released and we will take that into consideration.