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Valuing Life
New Zealand Medicines Access Summit
14 - 15 October 2025
WELLINGTON
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Welcome.
Patient Voice Aotearoa and Medicines New Zealand invite your participation at the Valuing Life - Medicines Access Summit 2025 which will be held at Parliament Buildings, Wellington. The Summit will be hosted by The Honourable David Seymour, Deputy Prime Minister and Associate Minister of Health (Pharmac).
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​Join us for insightful, high-level discussions bringing together a diverse mix of stakeholders - from clinical experts and health technology assessment specialists, to patient advocates, industry leaders, government representatives and MP's. This event will provide a vital platform for meaningful conversations on advancing medicines access in New Zealand.
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PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS AN INVITATION ONLY EVENT AND INVITATIONS ARE NOT TRANSFERABLE.
Speakers.
This summit will serve as a practical 'how to' forum, bringing together stakeholders and local experts to share evidence-based strategies, guidance, and solutions for improving processes and outcomes in medicines access. It is only the second multi-stakeholder event of its kind to be held in New Zealand, underscoring its significance as a platform for collective progress and driving change.
Hon David Seymour
Deputy Prime Minister and Associate Minister of Health (Pharmac)
Dr Malcolm Mulholland MNZM
Chair, Patient Voice Aotearoa
Chair, Pharmac Consumer and Patient Working Group
Todd Krieble
BSc, MPH, MPP
Chair, Medicines New Zealand
Rachel Smalley, MNZM
Summit MC
Deputy Chair, Pharmac Consumer and Patient Working Group
Pru Etcheverry, ONZM
WORKSHOP ONE CHAIR
Director - Advocacy Answers
Tanya Baker
WORKSHOP TWO CHAIR
Medicines New Zealand
Christine Perrins
WORKSHOP THREE CHAIR
Advocacy Adviser, Cystic Fibrosis NZ
Dr Stephen Child
WORKSHOP FOUR CHAIR
​Chief Medical Officer, Southern Cross Health Society
Dr Rodger Tiedemann
MBChB PhD FRACP FRCPA
Associate Professor of Medicine | University of Auckland, Consultant Haematologist | Cancer and Blood Service, Auckland Hospital
Dr John Baker
MB ChB FRCPA
Diabetes Specialist, Endocrinologist
Dr Gina O'Grady
MB ChB, FRACP
Paediatric Neurologist - Starship
Tim Edmonds
Chief Executive Officer, Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand
Pharmac Consumer and Patient Working Group
Chris Higgins
Chief Executive, Rare Disorders NZ
​Pharmac Consumer and Patient Working Group
Professor Jaime King JD, PhD
John and Marylyn Mayo Chair in Health Law
Professor, Auckland Law School
Sarah Hogan
Deputy Chief Executive (Wellington) and Principal Economist NZIER
Dr Lee Mathias, ONZM
Independent Director, former Chair at HPA, Medicines New Zealand and Counties Manukau DHB
Lisa Burns
Chief Executive, Cystic Fibrosis NZ
Trustee, Patient Voice Aotearoa
Dr Christian Schwabe
MD, MPharm Med
Chief Executive Officer, Senior Research Physician New Zealand Clinical Research
Agenda.
The programme is accurate at the time of publishing. If any changes are made, we will update the website to reflect those changes.
Hosted by The Honourable David Seymour, Deputy Prime Minister and Associate Minister of Health (Pharmac)
8:00 AM
Parliament
Assemble at New Zealand Parliament Buildings.
8:30 AM
Parliament
Opening addresses from The Honourable David Seymour, Deputy Prime Minister and Associate Minister of Health (Pharmac)
9:00 AM
Parliament
Panel Session 1: Workshop Chairs report back from 2024 summit
Facilitated by Rachel Smalley
Panel includes:
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Sarah Hogan - Workshop 1 Enhancing HTA Processes
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Dr Lee Mathias - Workshop 2 Medicines Strategy
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Lisa Burns - Workshop 3 Better stakeholder engagement in decision making
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Dr Christian Schwabe - Workshop 4 Health innovations optimisation in New Zealand
9:30 AM
Parliament
Panel session 2: Patient Advocates
Facilitated by Rachel Smalley
Panel includes:
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Dr Malcolm Mulholland, MNZM
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Tim Edmonds, CEO Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand
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Chris Higgins, CE Rare Disorders NZ
10:00 AM
Parliament
Panel session 3: Doctors
Facilitated by: Rachel Smalley
​Panel includes:
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Dr Rodger Tiedemann - Consultant Haematologist | Cancer and Blood Service
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Dr John Baker - Diabetes Specialist, Endocrinologist
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Dr Gina O'Grady - Paediatric Neurologist - Starship
10:30 AM
Parliament
Morning Tea including Media Q&A
11:00 AM
Parliament
Panel session 4: Medicines Access in New Zealand - a cross party approach
Facilitated by: Rachel Smalley
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Panel to be confirmed.
12:00 PM
Parliament
Panel session 5: Spending to save - futureproofing of health system funding in New Zealand
Facilitated by: Rachel Smalley
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Dr Stephen Child - ​Chief Medical Officer, Southern Cross Health Society
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Sarah Hogan - Deputy Chief Executive (Wellington) and Principal Economist NZIER
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Professor Jaime King - University of Auckland
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Additional panel members to be confirmed.
1:00 PM
Parliament
Lunch including Media Q&A
2:30 PM
Concurrent workshop sessions
Please select your preferred workshop in your registration and a second option in case your first choice is full.
Please note: Members of the media are not permitted to attend the summit workshops.
1
Improving PHARMAC Processes & Policies: Towards a More Transparent, Timely, and Equitable System
This session run under Chatham House Rules explores opportunities to enhance Pharmac's decision-making, prioritisation, funding policies, and processes in the face of rising demand for innovative modern medicines. Stakeholders will examine current limitations and co-develop ideas to make Pharmac more responsive, transparent, and aligned with health equity goals.
Chair - Pru Etcheverry, ONZM
Director - Advocacy Answers
2
Unlocking Innovation: Building a Stronger Health Research & Clinical Trials Ecosystem in Aotearoa
This session focuses on strengthening New Zealand’s capacity to conduct world-class health research and clinical trials. It will explore system gaps, policy opportunities (e.g. horizon scanning), and how to better attract, support, and retain trials that align with national health priorities and benefit local populations — particularly underserved communities.
Chair - Tanya Baker
Head of Regulatory, Science & Technical Advice, Medicines New Zealand
3
Legislation in Transition: Future-proofing and Optimising Medicines Regulations and Procurement in New Zealand
This session examines how New Zealand’s medicines access and funding framework is shifting assuming proposed changes to the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill, the Medicines Amendment Bill, the Gene Technology Bill, and the yet-to-be formulated Medical Products Bill. It will also explore how these pieces of legislation may impact both the medicines regulatory landscape and procurement systems including PHARMAC’s statutory functions. The workshop will determine if the medicines legislative changes also meet the needs of a modern, equitable, and responsive health system.
Chair - Christine Perrins
Advocacy Adviser,
Cystic Fibrosis NZ
4
Funding the Future: How will the Health System Sustainably Fund Modern Medicines?
This session tackles the difficult but necessary question: how can Aotearoa sustainably fund access to an increasing number of innovative medicines within a publicly funded health system? With constrained budgets and growing health inequities, participants will explore the pros, cons, and trade-offs of potential funding reforms — including tax policy, co-payments, private insurance, and new risk-sharing models.
Chair - Dr Stephen Child
​Chief Medical Officer, Southern Cross Health Society
3:15 PM
5:00 PM
Parliament
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Parliament
7:30 PM
Parliament
Afternoon tea
Keynote speaker
Speaker to be confirmed
Networking event​
Event concludes
Tuesday 14 October 2025 - Day one
Wednesday 15 October 2025 - Day two
8:30 AM
Parliament
9:00 AM
Parliament
12:00 PM
Parliament
1:00 PM
Parliament
2:00 PM
Parliament
3:00 PM
Parliament
3:30 PM
Parliament
5:30 PM
Parliament
Assemble at New Zealand Parliament Buildings.
Concurrent workshop sessions - same as Day One
Please select your preferred workshop in your registration and a second option in case your first choice is full.
Please note: Members of the media are not permitted to attend the summit workshops.
Lunch
Panel session 4: What did we learn from the roll out of medicines?
Facilitated by: Rachel Smalley
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Panel to be confirmed.
Workshop sessions summary feedback
Facilitated by Rachel Smalley
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Pru Etcheverry, ONZM, Director Advocacy Answers
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Tanya Baker, Head of Regulatory, Science & Technical Advice, Medicines New Zealand
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Christine Perrins, Advocacy Adviser, Cystic Fibrosis NZ
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Dr Stephen Child, Chief Medical Officer, Southern Cross Health Society
Closing remarks
Dr Malcolm Mulholland, MNZM Chair Patient Voice Aotearoa
Todd Krieble, Chair Medicines New Zealand
Patient Advocate Groups only session
Facilitated by Dr Malcolm Mulholland
Event concludes
"Attendee Disclaimer
By attending this Summit, you are acknowledging the following matters and rules applying to the conduct of the Summit, and agreeing to acting in accordance with them:
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The attendees of the Event acknowledge that they understand the views and opinions expressed during the Event are those of each individual speaker/panellist and do not necessarily reflect the views or position of Medicines New Zealand or Patient Voice Aotearoa. The Summit has been organised to provide an opportunity for high-level discussion among a diverse range of local and international stakeholders in the health and medicine sector. Accordingly, the organisers have provided a platform for the speakers/panellists to express their own personal views and opinions.
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During the Event the moderator will indicate when a session/panel event is subject to Chatham House Rule. Under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed. The aim of Chatham House Rule is to bring people together, break down barriers, generate ideas and agree solutions. The attendees of the Summit agree and acknowledge that it is therefore of vital importance that what is said whilst Chatham House Rules apply, is not repeated or disclosed outside of the session."
Registration
PLEASE NOTE: This is an invitation only event and invitations are not transferable.
Spaces are limited, so we encourage you to register promptly to secure your spot and avoid any disappointment.​