Originally published on te karere Hundreds of people marched to parliament today petitioning the government to fund life-extending drugs for cancer sufferers. According to political reporter Eruera Rerekura, protesters want to apply more pressure on the government after the health select committee decided not to carry out an independent review of Pharmac – the government’s...Continue Reading
Originally published on RNZ People desperately seeking cancer treatment which could extend their lives by years, took their battle to increase Pharmac spending to Parliament today. Listen hereContinue Reading
Originally published on NZ Herald Deputy Prime Minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peter has thrown his weight behind trialling a scheme that would allow people early access to new drugs to treat some conditions. Peters joined 16 other MPs from all parties on Parliament’s forecourt today to accept eight petitions from five cancer...Continue Reading
Originally published on NZ Herald Pharmac board chairman Steve Maharey is backing an early access scheme that would give patients access to new and emerging drugs faster. Maharey told the Herald that while Pharmac’s core business was sound, it was a model under stress. Pharmaceuticals and medical devices were changing with increasing speed and the migration of...Continue Reading
This story was originally published on RNZ People desperately seeking cancer treatment which could extend their lives by years have called on politicians to increase Pharmac spending. About 100 cancer sufferers, their families and supporters took to Lambton Quay to deliver eight different petitions to parliament today. For many – including one solo dad with...Continue Reading
A novel chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy induced complete and durable responses in a phase I trial involving patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma. Of 33 patients treated with bb2121, a B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed product, 85% achieved an objective response, reported James N. Kochenderfer, of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, and...Continue Reading
A gene therapy that tweaks the immune system might offer hope to people with blood cancer that has resisted standard treatments, a new preliminary trial suggests. The cancer, called multiple myeloma, arises in certain white blood cells. It is currently incurable, but there are treatments that can help people live with the disease for years....Continue Reading
Originally published on Te ao Almost 20,000 New Zealanders have signed eight petitions to be presented to parliament, demanding better funding of medicines. The petitions will be formally presented to MPs on May 7, asking for 26 drugs to be funded for six diseases. The diseases include breast cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, lung cancer, non-small-cell...Continue Reading
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have discovered a way to prevent kidney failure from occurring in people with multiple myeloma. Paul Sanders, M.D., a nephrologist in the Division of Nephrology at UAB, found that the development of chronic, progressive kidney damage can be prevented by blocking a pathway activated in the kidney by light chains proteins...Continue Reading
For those who are able to, including family and friends, we urge you to join us on Tuesday 7 May in Wellington to march for the RIGHT TO LIVE. We’ll be presenting our petition at the steps of Parliament to ask that the drugs that extend or improve the quality of lives are funded by...Continue Reading
