Why the brand of your medicine may change

Key points about brand changes

There can be several reasons why the brand of your medicine may change.
Changes include shortage of supplies or a change in the name by the manufacturer.
This page may help you understand why and how changes to funded medicines and devices happen in New Zealand.

There can be several reasons why the brand of your medicine may change, such as:

the manufacturer of the medicine no longer supplies it
the manufacturer has changed the name of the medicine
the brand of medicine is no longer subsidised by PHARMAC and has been replaced by another brand
there is a shortage in the supply of the usual brand and an alternative is sought temporarily.

In New Zealand, all medicines must be approved for sale by Medsafe, a division of Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora. Once medicines are approved by Medsafe, manufacturers usually also apply for the medicine to be subsidised under the Pharmac tender system.

Medsafe

Medsafe is the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority and a part of Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora. It is responsible for the regulation of medicines in New Zealand. Read more about Medsafe(external link).

Pharmac

Pharmac is the New Zealand government agency that decides which medicines and medical devices are funded in New Zealand. Manufacturers of prescription medicines usually apply for their medicine to be subsidised under the Pharmac tender system, which the government pays some of the cost of medicines for patients. Every now and again, Pharmac may change the subsidised brand of some medicines.