9 September 2025
J Bruning
Via email:
fyirequest31996[email address]
Tēnā koe J Bruning
Request for information: lisdexamfetamine
Thank you for your request dated 13 August 2025 under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act) for information relating to lisdexamfetamine. You requested:
Pharmac’s decision to fund (the now generic) lisdexamfetamine, a new stimulant
medicine that wil provide an additional treatment option for people with ADHD fol ows
a funding application by Takeda. Pharmac looks for a clear health benefit and how
improved people's lives might be and for how long with the medicine
Please supply application information containing the fol owing:
(i) Efficacy: scientific information including mechanistic data, case reports, cohort
studies, and populationlevel data.
Safety: scientific information and data on adverse events reviewed by these groups
including case reports, cohort studies, and populationlevel data.
(including study author, year, title and funding)
[2] Please provide information and reports reviewed by Pharmac, that includes
information from the Therapeutics Advisory Committee (PTAC) and Specialist
Advisory Committees (SACs) that contains the fol owing information:
a.Efficacy: scientific information reviewed by these groups including mechanistic data,
case reports, cohort studies, and populationlevel data.
b. Safety: scientific information and data on adverse events reviewed by these groups
including case reports, cohort studies, and populationlevel data.
c.Safety: Al New Zealand and Australian adverse event reports considered.
Please find the requested information attached as Appendix 1. The document provided to
you is the paper prepared by Pharmac and provided to the Mental Health Advisory
Committee. This paper is a synthesis of the most relevant information and evidence provided
to Pharmac by the applicants, and other relevant information identified by Pharmac’s Health
Technology Assessment Advisors. This is al the clinical y relevant information that was
provided to the Advisory Committee for assessing the funding application for
lisdexamfetamine.
The paper also contains Pharmac’s analysis of lisdexamfetamine under our
Factors For
Consideration.
The Mental Health Advisory Committee used this information to make a funding
recommendation. You can see a record of the Mental Health Advisory Committee’s
consideration of lisdexamfetamine (from page 13) at:
202526042
www.pharmac.govt.nz/assets/202109MentalHealthSubcommitteerecord.pdf
Some information has been withheld under the fol owing sections of the Act:
section 9(2)(b)(i ), to protect the commercial position of the person who supplied the
information, or who is the subject of the information
section 9(2)(j), to enable negotiations to be carried on without prejudice or
disadvantage.
Some information that is not in scope of your request has also been removed.
For further information regarding the safety and efficacy of lisdexamfetamine, you may wish
to enquire with Medsafe. You can contact them via the Ministry of Health by emailing
[email address]
[3] Please provide Pharmac estimated numbers of prescriptions by age and gender
that have been budgeted for the next 35 years, and related costings drug cost per
unit/per quantity and administrative costs.
Please find information relating to estimated patient numbers in the documents provided. The
cost of the lisdexamfetamine has been withheld under sections 9(2)(b)(i ) and 9(2)(j) of the
Act, as this is commercial y sensitive information.
In making our decision, we have considered the public interest considerations in section 9(1) of
the Act. No public interest has been identified that would be sufficient to override the reasons
for withholding that information.
We trust that this information answers your queries. Please note, you have the right to make
a complaint to the Ombudsman about our response to your OIA, under section 28(3) of the
OIA. Details of
how to make a complaint are on the Ombudsman’s website.
To make information more freely available, we publish selected OIA responses (excluding
personal details) on our website. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about
this.
Nāku noa, nā
Oliver Whitehead
Team Leader, Government Services
202526042
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