Pharmac will fund a new drug to fight heart disease.
The Government's drug buying agency will spend $14.3 million a year on ticagrelor, which is being described as a new generation blood thinning drug.
Pharmac medical director Peter Moodie says the drug will help patients who have had particular types of heart attacks.
He estimates that 3300 people in the first year and up to 12,000 by the fifth year, will benefit from the funding of the drug.