Newly Funded Medicine To Benefit 110 More People With Thyroid, Liver, And Kidney Cancer

Pharmac has decided to fund lenvatinib from 1 December 2024 for people with some types of thyroid, liver, and kidney cancer.

Lenvatinib (branded as Lenvima) stops the number of cancer cells from increasing, slowing the cancer’s progression. The medicine is taken as oral capsule that people can take at home.

“We know how important cancer medicines are to people’s lives, so we’re really pleased to provide more treatment options for people with these types of cancer,” says Dr David Hughes, Pharmac’s Chief Medical Officer.

Lenvatinib will be the first targeted treatment for people with a specific types and stages of thyroid and liver cancer. Previously these people have only received supportive care that provides comfort and relief from their symptoms.

“Funding lenvatinib will give some people with thyroid and liver cancer a treatment option they haven’t had before. It will give them the chance to have a better quality of life and live longer,” says Hughes.

People with kidney cancer that has spread will also be eligible to receive lenvatinib, that will be taken with another medicine called everolimus. It will be used as a second treatment option. Alternatively, they can use nivolumab which we funded from 1 November 2024.

Hughes says feedback on the public consultation helped Pharmac make small changes to the final eligibility criteria for kidney and thyroid cancer to make sure the right people can access treatment.

“People with kidney cancer experiencing severe side effects with nivolumab will be able to move to lenvatinib with everolimus so they can continue to receive treatment. We’ve also updated how we describe the eligibility criteria for thyroid cancer so it’s easier for clinicians to understand who the treatment is funded for.”

This funding decision is part of a package of additional funding allocated by the Government in June 2024. As of today, Pharmac has made decisions to fund 26 medicines for specific cancer and non-cancer health conditions.

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