Ep 43 - A/Prof Rodger Tiedemann - NZ's Medicines Deficit: Why are Kiwis Missing Out?

In this weeks episode I sit down with A/Prof Rodger Tiedemann, a Consultant Haematologist, A/Prof of Medicine, Researcher, and advocate for medicines access and clinical trials in New Zealand.

We begin by chatting about Rodgers involvement in multiple myeloma research and the treatment landscape, and how targeted therapies have improved survival rates for this type of cancer.

We then centre the discussion on the challenges facing New Zealand's healthcare system, particularly in terms of access to modern medicines and clinical trials.

New Zealand's funding for medicines is significantly lower compared to other countries with comparative GDPs, and we have a large 10 year deficit in access to new cancer treatments for Kiwi patients.

For example, we rank 30th in GDP per capita from 218 countries. By this measure of national income, we fall between Germany and the UK, and ahead of France, Italy and Japan. However, while those countries each reimbursed 119-165 new medicines between 2016-2021, New Zealand reimbursed only 17... This lack of access also impacts clinical trial availability, as trials often require patients to have already received standard-of-care treatments, which may not even be funded yet in New Zealand. Consequently, pharmaceutical companies are less inclined to bring clinical trials to NZ, further limiting options for our patients. So what needs to be done to fix this?

A significant frameshift in drug funding is critical for NZ. The valuation and budgeting of healthcare, increased funding for medicines, and the understanding of how this would benefit the NZ economy due to second- and third-order effects of new medicines (I.e., lower healthcare spending, faster time returning to work etc.). This would not only improve patient outcomes but also attract more clinical trials, which could also bring economic benefit.

You can find out more about A/Prof Rodger Tiedemann here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodger-tiedemann-a2306580/

𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐊𝐄𝐘𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒:- cancer treatment, blood cancers, multiple myeloma, immunotherapy, medicine access, New Zealand healthcare, clinical trials, haematology, cancer research