Clinicians have welcomed the funding of new hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medication “Estrogel” by Pharmac , which is set to help Kiwi women manage some symptoms of menopause. The funding for the drug , which comes in gel form and can be simply applied to the skin once a day, came into effect today and is available with a doctor’s prescription. It contains the hormone estrogen, which will help with estrogen deficiency symptoms in women who are at least six months past their last natural period.
The funding comes amid a global shortage of transdermal estrogen patches , which also deliver medication through the skin – the safest way to take estrogen as it does not carry the small increased clot risk that oral estrogen does. Head of digital and marketing at Pharmaco New Zealand, Christine Ivers, said the latest funding announcement is “great news” for New Zealand women, particularly as demand has tripled for oestrogen sources over the last few years – with many more women going onto HRT..