Liraglutide is considered inferior to other similar drugs, which are in short supply. Photo: WLADIMIR BULGAR / SCIENCE PHOTO LI / WBU / Science Photo Library via AFP
Pharmac has reached an agreement to source a new alternative drug for type 2 diabetes.
The move follows a global shortage of Trulicity (dulaglutide), which is taken by 14,000 people in New Zealand.
Ministry of Health figures show there were 277,803 people with diabetes in New Zealand in 2020. Of those, 47,988 were in Counties Manukau.
Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly had instructed New Zealand healthcare providers in October to consider not prescribing Trulicity to new patients due to a global lack of supply. Shortages were expected to continue into 2023.
A global surge in demand for GLP-1 agonist drugs - for weight loss - by people in the US, including a number of celebrities, was behind the shortage of the vital medicine used by type 2 diabetics in New Zealand.
The demand has also been driven by people taking to social media to talk about using them.
In a statement on Thursday, Pharmac said it had reached an agreement with Novo Nordisk to supply Victoza (liraglutide) as an alternative treatment. It will be funded for people with type 2 diabetes who meet the existing eligibility criteria from March 1.
"While dulaglutide remains available for people eligible for funding, we have been advised that the current uncertainties around its supply are likely to remain for some time."
Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa chairman John Baker said while Pharmac has managed to source an alternative drug during the global shortage, it is an inferior product to dulaglutide.
The South Auckland-based specialist said the new drug has to be injected daily, as opposed to dulaglutide which can be injected once a week.
"So I'm not happy about it," Baker said. "But Pharmac's comments show it doesn't think the existing shortages will be solved anytime soon."
And he said while Pharmac has said those who already take dulaglutide will continue to receive it - he has concerns.
"We might find the dulaglutide supply dries up altogether and this is what we're left with."
He campaigned for a number of years to get Pharmac to fund the drug and has recommended the drug to dozens of GPs every week for their patients. He said the shortage still has the potential to affect thousands of diabetics.
Dr David Simmons is a professor at Western Sydney University's School of Medicine. He previously worked as a specialist in Counties Manukau and is an internationally-recognised expert on diabetes.
Last month he said the global demand for the drugs - as a weight loss aid - had grown markedly and shortages experienced by diabetics in New Zealand were also being felt in Australia.
"But [the shortage is] definitely because of their use outside of diabetes," he said. "People know about this group of drugs and they are effective."
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.