Pharmac Proposing To Fund Two Brands Of Oestradiol Patches

Pharmac is seeking feedback on a proposal to fund two brands of oestradiol patches for New Zealanders to use – Estradot, and Estradiol TDP Mylan.

If approved, Pharmac would fund both brands of oestradiol patches from 1 December 2025 and people could use either brand of patch, subject to availability. The public consultation opens on 27 March and closes on 22 April.

In November 2024, Pharmac decided to fund Estradiol TDP Mylan oestradiol patches as the main funded brand to manage supply issues. When Pharmac notified the decision, we received a significant amount of feedback about the importance of having multiple brands of oestradiol patches available.

“We heard very clearly at the end of last year that a single brand of patch does not work well for everyone, and that we needed to have consulted more fully than we did. We are sorry for this and want to get it right this time," says Pharmac’s Manager of Pharmaceuticals, Adrienne Martin.

Since then, Pharmac has been working with people who use oestradiol patches, menopause specialists, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists to reflect their feedback in a new proposal to fund both Estradot and TDP Mylan patches.

“We want to thank everyone who has provided feedback on the need for more than one brand of oestradiol patch,” she says.

“We encourage everyone who uses oestradiol patches or who works with people who do, and anyone else with an interest in this issue, to take part in our public consultation.”

She noted, however, that there continue to be ongoing issues with the supply of Estradot.

“Internationally and in New Zealand there has been a large increase in demand for oestradiol patches over the last few years and we expect this to keep increasing. These increases have meant that the factory that makes Estradot cannot make enough to keep up with increasing demand.

“Through this proposal we have secured as much stock of Estradot as the supplier can provide but unfortunately the ongoing global supply issues mean there may be times when there’s not enough Estradot patches for everyone who wants to use them,” she says.

“The supplier of Estradiol TDP Mylan has assured Pharmac that it can produce enough patches to meet the demand in New Zealand. This is why our proposal is to have two brands funded. Pharmac also funds other oestradiol treatments, like oestradiol gel, which can, for some people, be used as an alternative.”

Martin says all currently funded brands of oestradiol patches will continue to be funded as Pharmac works through this process.

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