Eric Crampton: How a ‘rule of two’ could remove our barrier to better drug access

When a new pharmaceutical is so successful that it blows out the national income accounts, it’s probably safe to call it a wonderdrug.

Semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic when treating Type II diabetes and as Wegovy for weight loss, turned a half-year 0.3% decline in Danish GDP into a 1.7% year-on-year increase.

But the real wonder for New Zealand is how Medsafe stands as barrier to new pharmaceuticals like Ozempic.