Health Minister Tony Ryall has told Parliament today that Pharmac's planning is well advanced on how it will spend tens of millions of dollars in new medicines funding. Mr Ryall said, "$31 million of the new money has been added to Pharmac's Community Pharmaceutical Budget. This spending will benefit people including those suffering from cystic fibrosis, hepatitis B, leukaemia, auto-immune disorders." "Another $9 million in new spending is managed by DHBs and the Ministry, and is being used for cancer treatment drugs, including herceptin." "Pharmac's total community pharmaceutical budget is now $694 million a year, which pays for the subsidized medicines we pick up from the local pharmacy." "This news comes during the worst recession since the 1930s, and is a good first step forward in the Government's aim to achieve better access to medicines," Mr Ryall said.