Friday, Sep 11, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ ↗
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Only sumatriptan and rizatriptan are publicly funded triptans in New Zealand.

The Claim

Only two of seven triptan medicines available globally are publicly funded in New Zealand: sumatriptan and rizatriptan.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

Current New Zealand evidence supports the claim. PHARMAC’s schedule and decision records show that only sumatriptan and rizatriptan are publicly funded, while the other five triptan medicines used globally are not subsidised in New Zealand. Older sources about availability or approval do not rebut this, because they address access rather than public funding.

Caveats

  • Funding is formulation-specific: some sumatriptan products, such as the injection, are not funded even though sumatriptan tablets are.
  • The claim is time-sensitive; older New Zealand sources describe a different access landscape before PHARMAC’s 2022 decision.
  • Public funding is not the same as approval or availability for private purchase; some migraine medicines may still be obtainable without being subsidised.

The Receipts

  1. Decision to secure supply of sumatriptan tablets

    PHARMAC

  2. Pharmaceutical Schedule – Section B: Community Pharmaceuticals (search within for “triptan”)

    PHARMAC (New Zealand Pharmaceutical Schedule)

  3. Use of medications for migraine in Aotearoa New Zealand

    New Zealand Medical Journal

  4. Triptans for migraine – establishing which triptan to use and when

    bpacnz (Best Practice Advocacy Centre New Zealand)

  5. Imigran (sumatriptan) Data Sheet

    Medsafe

  6. Triptans

    NCBI Bookshelf (StatPearls/NIH)

  7. Triptans in the treatment of migraine

    bpacnz (Best Practice Advocacy Centre New Zealand)

  8. Application: frovatriptan, naratriptan, rizatriptan, sumatriptan succinate, zolmitriptan for acute migraine

    PHARMAC (Te Pātaka Whaioranga)

  9. Triptans: What They Are, Uses, Side Effects & Types

    Cleveland Clinic

  10. Triptans

    The Migraine Trust

+ 15 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

New ZealandRizatriptanSumatriptan

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