Decision to fund a new medicine for people with serious infections and widen access to treatments for high blood pressure and bacterial infections
Pharmac has decided to fund a new medicine for people in hospital with serious infections and to improve access to medicines for difficult-to-treat bacterial infections and high blood pressure.From 1 November 2026, Pharmac will:
Fund ceftolozane with tazobactam for people with serious multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.
Widen access to bedaquiline and linezolid for people with non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections.
Widen access to captopril oral liquid for people with spinal cord injuries who experience episodes of very high blood pressure where treatment with glyceryl trinitrate is not suitable.
Some of these medicines are already funded for a small number of people through Pharmac's Named Patient Pharmaceutical Assessment (NPPA) process. This decision moves them to the Pharmaceutical Schedule, making funded access simpler, more transparent, and easier for eligible people and their clinicians to navigate.
The changes will also reduce the need for individual funding applications for some patients, helping clinicians spend more time focused on patient care.
Feedback from consultation was broadly supportive. We listened carefully to the feedback received and in response we have made some changes to the eligibility criteria to provide greater clarity and simplify access.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their experiences, views, and suggestions. Your feedback helped inform our final decision.
You can find more information on this decision on the Pharmac website:
Please feel free to share this information with others who may be interested.
Ngā mihi,
Pharmac | Te Pātaka Whaioranga | P: +0800 660 050 | www.pharmac.govt.nz
