Pharmaceutical Management Agency

Future Procurement Opportunity (FPO) – Supply of Blunt Fill Needles

Pharmac is considering issuing a competitive process for supply of blunt fill needles to Te Whatu Ora. The resulting agreements would not guarantee any exclusivity of supply or market share for a particular supplier.

Blunt fill needles are used for the draw-up of medication, re-constitution of medication and for accessing IV bags. The process if expected to include blunt needles both with/without filters, and both bevelled/non-bevelled products.

The approximate gross annual expenditure by Te Whatu Ora on blunt fill needles in the 2021 FYR was approximately $1,590,000.

Pharmac previously ran an RFP process for needles and syringes in 2017 which included blunt fill needles. Suppliers whose blunt fill needles are already listed on the Pharmaceutical Schedule would be able to submit new pricing as part of this process, but would likely not be required to re-submit information previously obtained via the 2017 needles and syringes RFP process (where that information is still current), or which is otherwise already reflected in their current agreement with Pharmac.

Pharmac is working to establish national agreements for medical devices. Ultimately, Pharmac will make choices about which new medical devices will be introduced for use in Te Whatu Ora Hospitals, that will get the best health outcomes from within a set amount of funding, reflecting these choices via the Pharmaceutical Schedule. For further information on Pharmac’s approach to medical devices please see the Pharmac website: https://www.pharmac.govt.nz/hospital-devices.

Indicative RFx Release Date: Q1 2023
Project Status: Initial development
Indicative Total Value: $1M - $5M