Decision to continue with the current provider for storage and distribution services for funded pharmaceuticals

Medicines Decision

What we’re doing

From 1 August 2026, Pharmacy Retailing (NZ) Limited trading as Onelink (“Onelink”) will continue to provide storage and distribution services of the funded pharmaceuticals: condoms, naloxone, and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) (“Community Pharmaceuticals”).

Onelink will also be contracted to provide storage and distribution services for ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (“Harvoni”) and ribavirin (collectively the “Hepatitis C Pharmaceuticals”), however these services will continue to be provided by Pharmacy Retailing (NZ) Limited trading as Healthcare Logistics (“HCL”).

Why we’re doing this

The decision has been made following a competitive and open Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for storage and distribution services for funded pharmaceuticals and vaccines.

As part of the same RFP process, we requested proposals from suppliers for the supply of national and regional level storage and distribution services for funded vaccines. The outcome of this process was notified in the January 2026 vaccines storage and distribution decision(external link).

Any changes to the original proposal?

This decision followed a 9 July 2026 consultation letter on pharmaceutical distribution and storage(external link). No changes have been made to the proposal following consultation.

Who we think will be most interested

  • Suppliers of NRT products, condoms, and naloxone
  • Authorised NRT providers
  • The Burnett Foundation, Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa, Aotearoa New Zealand Sex Workers Collective
  • New Zealand Drug Foundation
  • Needle exchange service providers
  • Infectious disease specialists
  • Health New Zealand

About storage and distribution

Storage and distribution of funded Community Pharmaceuticals

Pharmac has a lead role in managing national-level direct distribution arrangements for a range of funded Community Pharmaceuticals. Pharmac currently manages the arrangements for distribution of funded Community Pharmaceuticals to various community health organisations.

Onelink has provided distribution services for NRT products and condoms since July 2017 following a 2016 Request for Proposals for nicotine replacement therapy and condom bulk distribution and logistics services(external link).

This agreement initially covered two such arrangements:

  • organisations contracted by the Ministry of Health (now Health New Zealand) to provide smoking cessation services including prisons and Quitcard providers (known as Smokefree Providers from October 2024) could order NRT products once a quarter
  • The Burnett Foundation (formerly New Zealand AIDS Foundation), Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa (formerly Family Planning New Zealand), and the Aotearoa New Zealand Sex Workers Collective (formerly New Zealand Prostitutes Collective) could order condoms once a month

Naloxone was added to the agreement following the December 2023 naloxone supply decision(external link), allowing needle exchange services to access naloxone for the preparation of opioid overdose emergency kits. This followed Medsafe's April 2022 naloxone reclassification decision(external link).

Organisations would continue to be able to order the relevant products directly from Onelink at no cost with Pharmac covering both the pharmaceutical and distribution costs.

These services are designed to make it easier for people to access these funded Community Pharmaceuticals by providing alternative pathways for people to access them other than going to a doctor then having a prescription filled at a community pharmacy.

Storage and distribution of Hepatitis C Pharmaceuticals

Harvoni and ribavirin are antivirals used to treat hepatitis C. Due to the high cost of these medicines, Pharmac utilises a direct to patient distribution model for their distribution rather than the standard pharmacy supply chain.

HCL has provided storage and distribution services for Hepatitis C Pharmaceuticals since 2016. Under this arrangement, Pharmac is responsible for ordering the Hepatitis C Pharmaceuticals from the relevant suppliers while HCL is responsible for the storage, dispensing and delivery of the Hepatitis C Pharmaceuticals to a patient’s designated delivery point (usually a community pharmacy or medical centre).

Detail about this decision

From 1 August 2026, Onelink will continue to supply funded Community Pharmaceuticals to community health organisations under the new agreement. From 1 August 2026, community health organisations will continue to be able to order funded Community Pharmaceuticals on a fixed ordering and delivery schedule as per current practice. Details of the proposed arrangements are available in the NRT ordering and delivery schedule(external link).

There will be no change to the existing ordering and delivery model for funded Community Pharmaceuticals, or for Hepatitis C Pharmaceuticals. While Onelink will be contracted to provide storage and distribution services for Hepatitis C Pharmaceuticals, these services will continue to be provided by HCL.  

Our response to what you told us

We’re really grateful for the time people took to respond to this consultation. A summary of the main themes raised in feedback and our responses to the feedback received are available on our notification webpage. Some of the feedback was of a commercial nature and Pharmac will engage with the respondent(s) about their feedback directly. 

Theme Pharmac response
RFP timeframe

Feedback highlighted the length of time taken to resolve this RFP.

We acknowledge the delay in the implementation of a new agreement as an outcome of this RFP and the uncertainty this creates for providers.

We appreciate the feedback and would look to incorporate the lessons learned from this RFP into our future procurement activities for storage and distribution arrangements.
Overall support

Feedback expressed support for initiatives to ensure funded Community Pharmaceuticals are sustainably supplied but that any risks of shortages or supply inefficiencies are mitigated.

Pharmac staff note that all proposals received were assessed against the evaluation criteria outlined in the RFP for the supply of storage and distribution services for funded pharmaceuticals and vaccines(external link), including supply chain capability.

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.