Pharma industry body criticised over media campaign for more expensive drugs

Medicines New Zealand has been called out over a long-running campaign to push Pharmac into paying for more expensive cancer drugs by getting stories about patients with terminal illnesses into the media.

Priorities New Zealand, a platform funded by pharmaceutical industry body Medicines New Zealand, has placed several stories as sponsored content on MediaWorks’ Newshub website.

Freelance Auckland journalist and media commentator Russell Brown has taken to social media to criticise the Priorities NZ campaign, saying it is not transparent enough about who it represents

The stories profile cancer sufferers’ struggles getting Pharmac to fund medicine and include criticism over how Pharmac decides when and what medicines to fund. Members of Medicines New Zealand include Pfizer, MSD and GSK.

Media commentator critical of approach

Freelance Auckland journalist and media commentator Russell Brown has taken to social media to criticise the Priorities NZ campaign, saying it is not transparent enough about who it represents.

Although the campaign is “no doubt” helping to put pressure on the Government, ordinary Kiwis may get the impression Priorities NZ is a grassroots organisation, when it is in fact a creation of a pharmaceutical industry representative body, he says.

The paid-for Newshub stories display the words “Sponsored by priorities.nz” at the top of the online article and at the bottom state, “This article was created for priorities.nz to raise awareness about accessing modern medicines in New Zealand.”

The Priorities NZ website has “for Medicines New Zealand” affixed to its logo.

Without listing the for-profit companies its parent body Medicines New Zealand represents, Priorities NZ's website says, "We are a not for profit association whose members are engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of modern prescription medicines."

‘Clearly marked’ content

Newshub head of digital, Cathy O’Sullivan says all sponsored content on Newshub’s website is clearly marked as such.

“However, we have added in further attribution in those sponsored content articles to make it clear that Priorities NZ is part of Medicines NZ.”

“There’s no beat-up there, the stories are balanced”

Medicines New Zealand responds

Medicines New Zealand general manager Graeme Jarvis says, “People have connected the dots quite easily”, in identifying Medicines New Zealand being behind Priorities NZ.

Affixing “for Medicines New Zealand” to Priorities NZ’s website logo makes it very clear who owns and manages the group, he says.

“The Priorities NZ website is nothing new, it’s been around for four years or so, it has an aim to share, inform and educate and offer some solutions on medicines and medicines access in New Zealand.”

Patient stories are factual and balanced, and include comment from patients, clinicians and Pharmac, Dr Jarvis says.

“There’s no beat-up there, the stories are balanced.”

Stories supplied by patient groups

Dr Jarvis says some patient case studies and stories used by Priorities NZ were supplied by patient groups themselves lobbying Pharmac for better access to medicines.

However, he says Medicines New Zealand has not provided any funding for patient groups, which over the past few months have presented petitions to Parliament demanding a review of Pharmac decision-making processes.

Breast Cancer Aotearoa treasurer Louise Malone confirmed no funding for its campaign had come from Medicines New Zealand.

Mr Jarvis says, “[Medicines NZ], like Pharmac, engage with a wide range of stakeholders and have working relationships and engagement with a wider range of patient groups and public as well, that’s part of our education advocacy remit.”

He declined to say how much Medicines New Zealand had invested in Priorities NZ stating this non-disclosure as “standard practice” which is “part of our not-for-profit industry association's financial policies and procedures”.

Pharmac says it is trying to be more transparent

In an emailed response to New Zealand Doctor, Pharmac director of operations Lisa Williams says it “would support any steps taken by others, including private industry, to ensure New Zealanders are fully informed about matters that affect them, including about the source of information”.

Ms Williams says the agency respects calls from New Zealanders for transparency in Pharmac’s work and has been making “significant steps” to improve its processes and making them more transparent

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