Pharmac is investing almost $10 million over the next five years to make a drug for chronic respiratory disease available to more New Zealanders. Deputy medical director of the pharmaceutical management agency, Dr Dilky Rasiah, says from 1 July more people with diseases such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema will have access to the drug tiotropium (Spiriva). Tiotropium can currently be prescribed to people with severe COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) under Special Authority. From July the Special Authority will be changed to enable doctors to also prescribe the drug for patients with moderate COPD. “Some people with moderate forms of this disease are still requiring treatment in hospital, especially in the winter months when cold weather or other factors can severely exacerbate their illness. More people using tiotropium may result in fewer of these cases,” Dr Rasiah says. The decision has been welcomed by the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand. The Foundation's executive director, Jane Patterson, says “We have been pushing for wider access to the drug, which is known to be an important tool for people with moderate to severe COPD.” Professor D Robin Taylor, the Foundation’s medical director, comments “Tiotropium relaxes the airways in patients with COPD in a way which is different from patients with asthma. Indeed tiotropium may be beneficial in patients for whom a standard bronchodilator inhaler does not work”. (Pharmac, Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand)