Associate Health Minister David Seymour welcomes the summary report on Pharmac’s progress against his 2025/26 Letter of Expectations.

“What we are doing is working. We’ve transformed the culture at Pharmac,” Mr Seymour says.

“The patient community used to picket outside Pharmac. Now, patients have a stronger voice at the table when Pharmac makes its decisions, because that’s important to them.

“Pharmac has gone from focussing solely on managing their fixed budget, to an agency that seeks collaboration for better outcomes, and advocates for further funding.

“I want to acknowledge Pharmac for the work they have done to respond to my Letters of Expectations.

“We will continue to improve how Pharmac operates, because Kiwis deserve it.

“For example, my expectation is that Pharmac continues to improve access to medicines and medical technology. In this work patients, consumers and their families will have a strong voice in decisions.

“I also made clear my expectation that Pharmac continues to improve the timeliness of its assessment and decision-making processes. Transparency and strong partnerships are maintained across the health sector.”

The summary report outlines Pharmac’s progress across 13 expectations in the 2025/26 expectations letter. As of June 2026, key achievements include:

“For the first time, Pharmac has a clear multi-year programme of organisational improvement underway. While still a work in progress, it is encouraging to see progress on consumer engagement, timeliness and sector collaboration,” Mr Seymour says.

“Pharmac is also more transparent than ever. Progress is published to hold Pharmac to account, and to keep the patient community up to date so that when they have their say, it’s based on the best information.

“The progress so far has been impressive, but there is more work to be done. Listening to the voices of patients and consumers will continue to be at the heart of Pharmac’s work as it launches the next phase of its long-term improvement programme.”

The full report can be found at on Pharmac’s website:2025/26 Pharmac Letter of Expectations progress update