Newsable: The problem with National's cancer drug promise
Tuesday, 4 June 2024
National’s campaign promise to fund 13 new cancer drugs within their first year in power did not receive any funding in Budget 2024.
A cancer medicine expert tells Stuff’s daily podcast that the list is out of date and needs to be revised before any further announcements are made.
Listen to Newsable for more, here.****
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has been forced to promise the government will eventually deliver on one of National’s campaign promises, after failing to deliver on Budget day.
Willis said an announcement on funding for 13 new cancer drugs will be made shortly as she was not in a position to make one at last week’s budget, but one expert told Stuff’s daily news podcast, Newsable, the list of medicines needs to urgently be revised.
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“That list of 13 is already three years out of date,” Professor Chris Jackson, from the University of Otago, told Newsable.
“[The list] absolutely and utterly must be [updated]. It’s bonkers to use that list when it’s three years out of date already, because the world has moved on in the last six months, let alone the last three years” he said.
Professor Jackson, who is a medical oncologist and helped write the report that the list of 13 is based off, also shared concerns around National’s funding promise in the first place.
“They announced in advance what the drugs would be, which means that no drug company is going to give you a good deal if they already know they have the guaranteed funding.”
He said none of the drugs were a cure but were about living longer and better.
“Having hope for that is really important. And to see that snatched away from people, I think, is cruel.”
Newsable is Stuff’s daily news podcast, wrapping up what’s worth talking about in a short package every weekday morning. Make sure to like and follow us wherever you get your podcasts.