An Auckland mum says life-saving Epipens are too expensive

Discovering that her son needs a costly Epipen for severe allergies has prompted an Auckland mum to campaign for the injector to be free.

Eight-year-old James Johnston went into anaphylactic shock on May 14 after being stung by a wasp, mother Victoria Johnston said.

Johnston said the wasp had got caught in James' hair while he was coming inside from feeding the pigs on their Kaukapakapa, north-west Auckland, property.

James cried out in pain and went red, breaking out in hives quickly, she said.

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"Next thing I could see his eyes puffing up, his ears were puffing up, everything was swelling."

SUPPLIED James Johnston, 8, went into anaphylactic shock after bring stung by a wasp on May 14.

Johnston said upon learning that her son would need to carry around an Epipen in case of allergic reactions, she was "gobsmacked" to discover they weren't funded.

"They're not even partly-funded, nothing."

Johnston said doctors basically told her to look around for the best deal they could find to purchase the Epipen.

SUPPLIED Victoria Johnston, pictured with her three sons, wants Epipens to be fully funded.

She said the cheapest she had found after scouring the internet was $110.

​Johnston said other countries funded the adrenaline injector and it was a "simple life-saving device" for people going into anaphylactic shock.

The Epipen was single-use and needed replacing every year, Johnston said.

The family currently only had one Epipen but were wanting at least three to be safe, she added.

Because of the cost of the injectors, Johnston decided to create a petition for Parliament to get Epipens fully funded.

"Epipens are incredibly expensive and every sufferer needs at least two," Johnston said.

SUPPLIED Victoria Johnston says son James' eyes and ears began to swell from the wasp sting.

"I'm so desperately sad for families in New Zealand that can't even afford one Epipen."

Health Minister David Clark said there was a process with petitioning to Parliament and it was inappropriate for him to comment during it.

Pharmac director of operations Lisa Williams said the company wasn't convinced that funding auto-injectors, like the Epipen, was the "next best spend of our budget".

SUPPLIED The single use Epipen with a life span of one year costs Victoria Johnston $110.

Williams said Pharmac already funded adrenaline ampoules that could be used for severe allergies.

"The ampoules cost about $1 each. Auto-injectors, like the Epipen, can be more than 100 times more expensive while containing the same active ingredient," Williams said.

"Pharmac works within a fixed budget, which means we have to make difficult choices about the use of our funding to obtain the best health outcomes for all New Zealanders."

But the ampoules Pharmac funded were administered with a needle and syringe, Johnston said.

This made them difficult to use unless medically trained – especially in an emergency, she said.

Williams said Pharmac continued to be in close contact with potential suppliers of adrenaline auto-injectors, in the hope of negotiating an affordable long-term funding agreement.