New Heart Medicine For 18,000 New Zealanders

Pharmac has decided to fund the medicine empagliflozin for thousands of people with a type of long-term heart failure.

Empagliflozin (branded as Jardiance) is an oral daily tablet that helps the heart pump blood around the body so that people can breathe easier and are less likely to experiencing swelling.

Pharmac funded empagliflozin for the first time in 2020 for some people with type 2 diabetes as it also helps to keep the levels of sugar in the blood in the healthy range.

From 1 December Pharmac will widen access to empagliflozin for people with a type of chronic heart failure who have reduced ejection fraction. About half of all people with chronic heart failure have this type of the condition, where the lower left part of the heart doesn't pump blood out to the body as well as it should.

Geraldine MacGibbon, Pharmac’s Director Pharmaceuticals, says that widening access to empagliflozin will reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, mean fewer people in hospital, and improve quality of life for people.

“We estimate that around 18,000 New Zealanders with chronic heart failure will benefit in the first year of funding empagliflozin, rising to over 37,000 people per year after five years of funding.

“People with this condition will be able to live healthier lives with their whānau and communities for longer,” she says.

“We also expect this funding decision will result in a reduction in hospitalisations, easing the pressure on our wider health system,” MacGibbon says.

Māori and Pacific people are four to five times more likely to be hospitalised with heart failure and have double the chance of dying from chronic heart failure than other people.

“Funding this medicine will have a positive impact on a lot of lives,” says MacGibbon.

Medical Director of the Heart Foundation, Dr Gerry Devlin, says that the medication will give a New Zealander with heart failure an additional six years of life compared to conventional treatment.

“We are pleased that we are now in line with international best practice for treatment of this group of New Zealanders living with heart failure. Widening access will have a significant impact on improving the quality of life for many heart failure patients and improving the heart health of New Zealanders.”

“This is a positive step, but there remain many New Zealanders with other forms of heart failure who would benefit from these drugs, and we will continue to advocate for them so they can live longer, healthier lives.”

The Government provided additional funding to Pharmac in June 2024 to fund new medicines and to widen access to medicines that are already funded. The funding boost covers medicines for both cancer and non-cancer health conditions.

Learn more

• Questions and answers: https://pharmac.govt.nz/news-and-resources/news/new-heart-medicine-for-18000-new-zealanders
• Decision to widen access to empagliflozin for chronic heart failure: https://pharmac.govt.nz/news-and-resources/consultations-and-decisions/decision-to-widen-access-to-empagliflozin-for-chronic-heart-failure

Pronunciation guide

• empagliflozin - em·puh·glai·flow·zn

© Scoop Media