1. Question No. 1—HealthTANGI UTIKERE (Labour—Palmerston North) to the Minister of HealthORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Health1. TANGI UTIKERE (Labour—Palmerston North) to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has Pharmac advised him of relating to rare disorders?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): I am pleased to say that on Sunday the national drug funding agency Pharmac announced they have initiated consultation on the funding of Trikafta for people aged six years and above. Trikafta is a treatment for cystic fibrosis a health condition affecting the lungs. It's a condition that typically shortens a sufferer's life considerably. Trikafta is a breakthrough treatment which radically addresses the condition and extends life expectancy for cystic fibrosis sufferers by 27 years on average. One of the recommendations in the review of Pharmac published earlier this year was that Pharmac should be more proactive in addressing treatments for rare disorders. Consultation over a new treatment is a very important step in Pharmac's process—it's how Pharmac checks that people who will get the most benefit from the medicines will be able to get access to them. Since 2017 this Government has increased the medicines budget by 43 percent letting Pharmac make more than 200 additional medicines available for thousands of people. This means better access to medicines and treatments for New Zealanders helping more people lead healthier lives.Tangi Utikere: What other drugs for rare disorders has Pharmac recently announced they will be funding?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: In September this year Pharmac announced that they are consulting over the spinal muscular atrophy medicine nusinersen which is marketed as Spinraza which would be the first medicine to be publicly funded for spinal muscular atrophy. Spinraza will make a substantial difference to the lives of the young people who receive it and confirms the renewed attention Pharmac is giving to rare disorders.Tangi Utikere: How do these announcements fit with the Pharmac review?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: We committed to an independent review to look at how well Pharmac performs against its objectives and whether those objectives need changing. This Government agrees with the independent review panel that Pharmac must put much more emphasis on equity across communities including for those who have rare diseases as well as their families. Pharmac's recent decisions to fund Spinraza and Trikafta—the first medicines to be publicly funded for spinal muscular atrophy and the miracle drug for cystic fibrosis—indicates it's shown a greater awareness of the need to carefully consider rare disorders.Tangi Utikere: What other progress has been made on the Pharmac review recommendations?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I have now received and accepted Pharmac's response to the review. In their response Pharmac has identified five priorities to drive and guide their performance improvement in the years ahead. The priorities are firstly enhancing assessment methods; secondly stronger partnerships and engagement with Māori; thirdly strengthening their focus on equity; fourth better incorporating consumer voices; and fifth sharing more impactful information about what work is being done. We are already seeing changes to how Pharmac is conducting itself with the funding decisions that they've recently announced.