On 2 December 2020, Crohn’s and Colitis NZ will lead a march of patients, supporters and medical specialists on Pharmac
and Parliament to present a petition pleading for access to ustekinumab, an urgently-needed medication for New
Zealanders suffering with severe Crohn’s and Colitis, for whom all other treatments have failed. The march is the
culmination of an intense three-month nationwide campaign to highlight the desperate need for this treatment.
Pharmac CEO Sarah Fitt and Chair Hon Steve Maharey will address the petitioners outside their headquarters, and join a
three-minute silence to mark the lives of those who have suffered needlessly by not having access to medications readily
available in other countries. Act Party Leader, David Seymour, who initiated the cross-party calls for a Government
review of Pharmac in the lead-up to the election, will receive the petition at Parliament.Schedule10.45am: Petitioners gather at Civic Square, Wellington for speeches by campaign leaders11.30am: March leaves Civic Square11.35am: Stop at Pharmac’s headquarters at 40 Mercer Street for 3 minute silence and address by Pharmac chiefs12.15pm: Stop at at the Cenotaph on the corner of Lambton Quay and Bowen St; patients and doctors available for media
interviews1.00pm: Petition presented at ParliamentSpeakersRichard Stein, MD, FRACP, FACG, AGAF, Chair, Crohn’s & Colitis NZProfessor Richard Gearry MB ChB, PhD, FRACP, Professor of Medicine, University of OtagoBelinda Brown, patient & Operations Manager, Crohn’s & Colitis NZMarian O’Connor RGN, MSc, Co-Chair NZ Inflammatory Bowel Disease Nurses GroupHon Steve Maharey & Sarah Fitt (Pharmac CEO & Chair) at Pharmac’s headquarters on Mercer StreetDavid Seymour, Act Leader – outside ParliamentBrooke Van Velden, Act Deputy Leader and Health SpokespersonPatients and their supporters