New Zealand Regulatory Update
The New Zealand coalition government has confirmed that the Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed before the end of this year, and Natural Health Products will be regulated under legislation separate from the Medicines Act and medical devices.
As the repeal will occur before the Act was intended to come into force, there will be no need for businesses or practitioners to change the way they currently work and operate.
The Associate Minister of Health, Casey Costello, who is responsible for the repeal and replacement of the Therapeutic Products Act 2023 released a media statement on 8 May and writes:
“The current Medicines Act is out of date, but the TPA was not the solution. It would have over-regulated some products and imposed unnecessary costs on consumers, businesses and exporters.”
The Minister reiterates that the government is listening to the concerns of industry, practitioners and consumers.
“Industry groups considered their products would be over-regulated, particularly lower risk products, such as some natural health products. Consumers, importers and practitioners, told us that over-regulation could make these products more expensive or unavailable and I am not confident the Act would have improved approval times for new medicines.”
During question time in Parliament on Thursday 9 May, Ms. Costello said she is looking towards a lasting and robust solution that appropriately balances oversight and efficiency and is planning to develop two pieces of legislation to replace the TPA – one to cover Natural Health Products and another to deal with medicines and medical devices. This will be the next phase of policy work and engagement in our industry and later this year, the Government will consider proposals for new legislation.
As the repeal will occur before the Act was intended to come into force, there will be no need for businesses or practitioners to change the way they currently work and operate.
The Associate Minister of Health, Casey Costello, who is responsible for the repeal and replacement of the Therapeutic Products Act 2023 released a media statement on 8 May and writes:
“The current Medicines Act is out of date, but the TPA was not the solution. It would have over-regulated some products and imposed unnecessary costs on consumers, businesses and exporters.”
The Minister reiterates that the government is listening to the concerns of industry, practitioners and consumers.
“Industry groups considered their products would be over-regulated, particularly lower risk products, such as some natural health products. Consumers, importers and practitioners, told us that over-regulation could make these products more expensive or unavailable and I am not confident the Act would have improved approval times for new medicines.”
During question time in Parliament on Thursday 9 May, Ms. Costello said she is looking towards a lasting and robust solution that appropriately balances oversight and efficiency and is planning to develop two pieces of legislation to replace the TPA – one to cover Natural Health Products and another to deal with medicines and medical devices. This will be the next phase of policy work and engagement in our industry and later this year, the Government will consider proposals for new legislation.
Our commitment:
FxMed will be working closely with the Natural Health Alliance (NHA). Together with the NHA, we are committed to ensuring sensible, risk-proportionate legislation.
Next steps:
The Minister states in her release that she looks forward to hearing from industry as well as from consumers and practitioners.
Throughout the engagement process, we encourage you to make your feelings known to any industry organisations that you belong to, your local MPs plus the Minister and her team.
