Decision to approve agreement for medical devices supplied by Obex Medical Limited
What we’re doing
We're pleased to announce the approval of a listing agreement with Obex Medical Limited (“Obex”) for the supply of medical devices to Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora (“Health NZ”) in the following categories:
- adhesives, sealants, and haemostats
- feeding equipment and associated devices
- medical and surgical instruments and power tools
- medical imaging, software, and associated products
- patient assessment, monitoring, and treatment
- patient warming and cooling
- sterilisation and decontamination equipment and associated consumables
- surgical implants
In summary this will result in:
- Obex’s medical devices in the categories listed above will be included in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 December 2025, under a national agreement that allows all Health NZ hospitals to purchase them; and
- Health NZ hospitals will also be able to purchase other suppliers’ brands of medical devices in these categories, as the agreement is not for sole supply.
Any changes to the original proposal?
This decision was subject to a consultation letter dated 9 October 2025. No changes were made to the original proposal following consultation.
Who we think will be most interested
- Health NZ staff including but not limited to:
-
- Clinical Engineers
- Clinical Product Coordinators
- Clinicians
- Dental Units
- Emergency Service Personnel
- Equipment Validation Service Providers
- Facilities and Support Services Department
- Infection Prevention and Control
- Nurses (Both Inpatient and Community Based)
- Occupational Health and Safety Department
- Procurement and Supply Chain Personnel
- Sterile Services Department and Personnel
- Wards and Outpatient Clinics
- Suppliers and Wholesalers
Detail about this decision
Pharmac has previously released the following Request for Proposals (RFPs) for non-exclusive national agreements for listing on the Pharmaceutical Schedule:
- supply of adhesives, sealants and haemostats
- supply of feeding equipment and associated devices
- supply of surgical implants, medical and surgical instruments and power tools
- supply of medical imaging, software, and associated products(external link)
- supply of multicategory patient assessment, monitoring, and treatment
- supply of patient warming and cooling
- supply of sterilisation and decontamination equipment and associated consumables
Pharmac has been working with suppliers who responded to each RFP, and were successful in being progressed to contract negotiation, to seek provisional agreements. This proposal is the latest to arise from these processes.
Health NZ hospitals can continue to choose which medical devices they purchase, including those from other suppliers. Health NZ hospitals that purchase medical devices in these categories from Obex must do so under the terms and conditions, including pricing, in the agreement from 1 December 2025.
The list of products will be available on Pharmac’s website from 1 December 2025 in both PDF and Excel formats.
Our response to what you told us
We’re grateful for the time people took to review this proposal. We received supportive responses from our direct engagement with Health NZ Procurement and Supply Chain personnel and no feedback from other respondents during the consultation process.
If you have any questions about this decision, you can email us at enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz; or call our toll free number (9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday) on 0800 660 050.