7 July 2026
Penny Claridge
Via email: [FYI request #34796 email]
Tēnā koe Penny
Request for information: India FTA Implications, and advance purchase agreement
framework
Thank you for your request dated 29 May 2026 under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (OIA)
for information relating to Vaccines and India Free Trade Agreement implications, and
advance purchase agreement frameworks. We wrote to you on 29 June 2026, notifying you
of your decision to extend the period of time available to respond to your request under
section 15A of the OIA. Each part of your request is answered below:
Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982, I request the following information:
Al internal briefing papers, policy documents, legal opinions, or board papers
prepared by Pharmac regarding the implications of the New Zealand-India Free
Trade Agreement's pharmaceutical and medical devices provisions - specifically the
GMP mutual recognition and regulatory acceptance provisions - for Pharmac's
competitive procurement processes for vaccines, during the period 1 January 2024 to
date.
An excerpt has been released in accordance with section 16(1)(e) of the Act, with information
deemed out of scope of your request excluded. You wil find this attached at the end of this
letter.
Al internal documents, briefing papers, or board papers that address the question of
whether Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers - including specifically the Serum
Institute of India - would be eligible to participate in future Pharmac vaccine
procurement processes under the terms of the NZ-India FTA, and on what regulatory
basis.
Section 18(e) of the OIA applies as none of the requested information exists within Pharmac
for this part of your request.
A summary of the legal and procedural framework under which Pharmac's normal
competitive procurement processes can be suspended or bypassed in the event of a
declared public health emergency, including:
a. The statutory basis for any such suspension.
b. The authority (Minister, Director-General, or other) required to activate emergency
procurement.
c. Whether Pharmac has developed or updated any emergency procurement
protocols since the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic response.
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Please refer to this publicly available information Emergency Procurement Guide for
Government for parts (A) and (B) of this request:
https:/ www.procurement.govt.nz/guides/emergency-procurement/
Turning to part (C) of your request, as Pharmac are a mandated agency, we are guided by
the Government Procurement Rules to inform our procurement activities, including
emergency procurement. We don't have a bespoke solution for Pharmac. We have a unique
role in the health system whereby our contracts give effect to continuity of supply of
pharmaceuticals for New Zealanders. Emergency procurement of pharmaceuticals is
relevant in this context, and we have processes in place to enable us to do this under our
agreements.
The complete terms of the current Principal Supply agreement with Pfizer for the
Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine (awarded August 31, 2025), including:
a. Contract value.
b. Volume commitments.
c. Indemnity provisions (if any).
d. Intellectual property terms.
e. Termination clauses.
Note: I acknowledge that Pharmac has previously withheld contract terms on
commercial sensitivity grounds. I request that Pharmac reassess this position in light
of the public interest in transparency regarding publicly-funded vaccine procurement,
and that any decision to withhold be accompanied by a full explanation of how
commercial sensitivity outweighs the public interest under section 9(1) of the Official
Information Act 1982.
Under our contract negotiation model, the actual prices paid for products are considered
commercially sensitive and their disclosure would impact Pharmac’s ability to negotiate for
products in the future. This is because Pharmac and suppliers operate in a competitive
international environment. The terms with any given supplier, including clauses relating to
price, reflect heavily negotiated outcomes. If the pricing terms agreed by Pharmac with one
supplier become known, other suppliers in negotiation with Pharmac could use this
information for a commercial advantage. Suppliers could also be reluctant to offer Pharmac
favourable terms (including prices) if they expected that those terms could be used by
overseas purchasers to leverage comparable concessions in their own negotiations with
those suppliers. Pharmac therefore needs to balance the need to respect the confidential or
sensitive nature of information it holds, while seeking to achieve transparency and ensuring it
complies with its legal obligations. The commercial sensitivity of the contractual
arrangements is not limited to clauses relating to price. Non price terms are also often
heavily negotiated.
We have attached the template agreement below that was used as the starting point for
the agreement and which subsequently formed the basis for negotiations
between Pharmac and Pfizer. This is used for the ongoing provision of vaccine supply from 1
February 2026:
www.pharmac.govt.nz/assets/Schedule-5_proposed-terms-and-conditions-
for-supply-of-COVID-19-vaccines
The final executed agreement is withheld under section 9(2)(i) of the Of icial Information Act,
to enable Pharmac to carry on commercial activities without prejudice or disadvantage, and
section 9(2)(j), to enable Pharmac to carry on negotiations without prejudice or
disadvantage.
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The terms ultimately agreed between the parties reflect commercially sensitive negotiations
and disclosure of the final contract could reasonably be expected to
prejudice Pharmac's ability to negotiate effectively with suppliers in the future. Release of this
information would be likely to disadvantage Pharmac in future commercial dealings and
procurement activities by revealing negotiated positions, contractual arrangements, and
other commercially sensitive information.
In making this decision, Pharmac has considered the public interest in release of the
information under section 9(1) of the Of icial Information Act and does not consider that the
public interest considerations outweigh the need to withhold the information.
Al correspondence between Pharmac and Helen Clark - in any capacity - regarding
vaccine procurement, the NZ-India FTA, or pandemic preparedness, during the
period 1 January 2024 to date.
Section 18(e) of the OIA applies as none of the requested information exists for this part of
your request.
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
Nicola Ngawati
Director
Equity and Engagement
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