Cost of dementia drug slashed

Pharmac is to fund a dementia drug that could drastically improve the lives of about 15,000 Kiwis.

The drug-buying agency will announce funding today for dementia drug Donepezil-Rex at Alzheimers New Zealand's conference in Wellington.

Alzheimers New Zealand estimated the cost of the drug would drop from between $75 and $150 a month to between $7.71 and $14.06 for three months. The subsidy begins after July.

Pharmac expects 15,000 dementia sufferers to be taking the subsidised drug after three years.

As recently as a year ago, the drug cost New Zealand patients – many of whom were retired and on fixed incomes – up to $300 a month, Alzheimers NZ spokeswoman Cass Alexander said. This was halved when new drug companies started making Donepezil-Rex, but the cost was still prohibitive for many.

The announcement was an "incredible win" for the thousands already taking the medication. Many more, too poor to afford the remedy, were likely to start using it, she said.

It was particularly effective for those with mild to moderate dementia, as well as the small number with early-onset dementia.

About 40,000 New Zealanders have dementia but, due to an ageing and growing population, that number is expected to almost double every 20 years. By 2050, 146,000 New Zealanders are expected to suffer from the disease.

Dementia was estimated to have cost New Zealand $713 million in 2008. It is not know by how much the subsidised drug could reduce that cost.

It does not stop dementia, but slows its progress and can give patients up to five more years of improved mental ability, allowing them time to sort out personal affairs and keeping them out of residential care longer.

However, Ms Alexander said she understood eligible patients would be prescribed the drug only for six-month periods, which was less than ideal.

Pharmac medical director Peter Moodie said the drug-buying agency had previously declined to fund the drug because it was too expensive and, for many, there was no proof it worked.

However, Pharmac had negotiated the price down to about 5 per cent of similar drugs and it would cost taxpayers about $680,000 a year.

Alzheimers NZ board member Eileen Smith said she "almost wept"' when she heard of Pharmac's proposal to fund Donepezil-Rex.

Her husband, Ray, 64, is in residential care with advanced dementia.

"When Ray was diagnosed, the cost for this medication was $250 per month. It was the only thing that gave us a small glimmer of hope for the future."

HELP AT HAND

What is Donepezil-Rex? The drug is a cholinesterase inhibitor, which improves cognitive function in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. The drug does not stop dementia, but slows its progress and can provide up to five more years of improved mental ability. Source: Alzheimers NZ

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