Pharmac Update: Primary Care Prescribers | 19 December 2025
- admin82291
- 22 hours ago
- 4 min read
Below is the latest information on Pharmac consultations, notifications, and supply issues for Primary Care Prescribers for week 19 December 2025. It includes information on:
New listing: aripiprazole 300 mg and 400mg injection (Abilify Maintena)
Abilify Maintena can now be administered by intramuscular injection into either the gluteal or deltoid muscle. The previous packaging did not include the extra needle to use for deltoid administration.
The Medsafe approved indication has been expanded to include ‘maintenance treatment’ to prevent the recurrence of manic or mixed episodes of bipolar I disorder in adults as monotherapy as well as acute and maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adults.
Tandem t:slim X2 Insulin Pump can be upgraded for free to enable the new Control-IQ+ Technology.
Current tandem pump patients need to update their software. Follow these instructions for the free software upgrade.This new software enables Freestyle Libre 3 Plus to connect to the Tandem t:slim X2 insulin pump.Instructions on how to link Freestyle Libre 3 Plus to the Tandem pump
Supply issue: levetiracetam oral liq 100 mg per ml (Levetiracetam-AFT)AFT has notified Pharmac it has limited stock of levetiracetam oral liq 100 mg per ml (Levetiracetam-AFT), due to production and shipping delays. AFT is expecting stock to arrive later in December or early January 2026.
Supply issue update: lanreotide inj (Mytolac) 0.5 ml syringe 60 mg per 0.5 ml. 90 mg per 0.5 ml and 120 mg per 0.5 mlBNM has notified Pharmac that the production of the Mytolac brand of lanreotide has been paused after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection uncovered some risks. BNM is reviewing these risks to determine whether it could affect product quality or patient safety. As a precaution, all affected batches held by BNM in New Zealand have been placed under quarantine until the review is complete. Medsafe is aware of the issue and is assessing whether a recall is necessary.
Pharmac has urgently sourced an alternative brand of lanreotide, Somatuline Autogel, which will be funded from 1 January 2026:
Chemical | Formulation | Brand | Pharmacode | Subsidy | Pack size |
Lanreotide | Inj 60 mg per 0.5 ml, 0.5 ml syringe | Somatuline Autogel | 2720264 | $1,543.79 | per 1 |
Lanreotide | Inj 90 mg per 0.5 ml, 0.5 ml syringe | Somatuline Autogel | 2720272 | $2,054.40 | per 1 |
Lanreotide | Inj 120 mg per 0.5 ml, 0.5 ml syringe | Somatuline Autogel | 2659131 | $2,570.44 | per 1 |
This brand is Medsafe-approved and is a reference product for BNM’s brand of lanreotide. It has an equivalent formulation, including the same excipients.
There is a limited supply of Somatuline Autogel inj 120 mg per 0.5 ml, 0.5 ml syringe available in New Zealand. Pharmac is working with the supplier (Ipsen) of Somatuline Autogel to understand when stock of the 60mg and 90mg strengths will arrive in New Zealand.
Supply Issue: zinc sulphate (Zincaps) Capsules 50mg
There have been further manufacturing delays, and resupply of the Medsafe approved Zincaps is not expected until late February 2026. An alternative Section 29 Zincaps was listed 1 October 2025, and this stock has now been depleted.
A second Section 29 alternative product will be listed (funded) from 1 January 2026. This product is Zinc sulphate heptahydrate 220 mg equivalent to 50 mg elemental zinc (Zinc 50mg capsules). The Zincap products that were available were a different salt - Zinc sulphate monohydrate 137.4 mg equivalent to 50 mg elemental zinc.
More information and images are available Zincaps on Pharmac website
Discontinuation: amiloride hydrochloride 5 mg with furosemide 40 mg (Frumil tabs) Sanofi the supplier is discontinuing Frumil tablets. This is a global discontinuation due to low usage. It is estimated Frumil tablets stock will be depleted by the end of February 2026.
Please consider prescribing a funded, Medsafe approved alternative for affected patients. Amiloride 5mg tablets are not Medsafe approved and would need to be prescribed and dispensed in line with Section 29 of the Medicines Act.
Discontinuation: PenMix 30 Penfill 3ml, NovoMix 30 FlexPen 3ml, Actrapid Penfill 3ml and Protaphane Penfill 3ml
NovoNordisk are rationalising of their portfolio and discontinuing the above four insulins. Patients will need to transition to other alternatives. For information on dates and possible alternatives see our Insulin discontinuations on Pharmac website
The first discontinuation is Penmix 30 which expires April 2026. It will be delisted from 1 May 2026.
Reminder discontinuation: clomipramine 10mg capsules
The delist date (no longer funded date) is 1 April 2026 for clomipramine 10mg capsules. Please continue to consider alternative options for patients that require the lower 10mg dose. Clomipramine 25mg presentations will remain available and listed on the Pharmaceutical Schedule.
Reminder discontinuation: dipyridamole (Pytazen SR) Tab long-acting 150 mg
Dipyridamole has been discontinued in New Zealand, and we have not found an alternative to Pytazen SR. The Strides brand has been funded temporarily to allow people to transition. Please move anyone taking Pytazen SR to an alternative treatment. A ‘no new patients rule’ applies to dipyridamole.
Brand change: varenicline tablets
The brand of varenicline tab 0.5 mg and 1 mg starter pack and varenicline tab 1 mg continuation pack is changing from Champix (Pfizer) to Pharmacor Varenicline.
The starter pack will remain as a blister pack with instructions for dose titration (weeks 1-4)
The 1mg continuation pack will change from a blister pack to a bottle (weeks 5-12)
For information on safe prescribing and a patient information leaflet please
Resolved Supply Issues:
Supply issues are marked as resolved when stock arrives in the country and is released to wholesalers. After this, it can take another 1-2 weeks for pharmacies to receive stock, depending on where they are located around New Zealand.
Promethazine hydrochloride (Hospira) Inj 25 mg per ml, 2 ml ampoule (Pfizer)
