Investing in outcomes: A societal and economic case for modernising blood cancer care in New Zealand

NZIER was commissioned by Roche Products (New Zealand) Ltd (Roche) to model the potential broader patient, health system, and economic impacts of funding two innovative blood cancer treatments for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a particularly aggressive blood cancer. The report demonstrates that funding both new medicines together could mean that over 20 years, nearly 800 New Zealanders with DLBCL avoid relapse after first-line treatment, nearly 400 stem cell transplants and nearly 600 courses of second-line chemotherapy would be avoided, and 3,000 patients would benefit from significantly longer survival. The value of benefits, including health system savings, productivity gains, and quality of life improvements, would amount to $265 million over 20 years.