UPDATED 5.30pm A petition has been delivered to MPs this afternoon asking the government to fund a treatment for melanoma.

LISTEN ABOVE: Health Minister Jonathan Coleman speaks to Larry Williams

The signatures were presented on the front steps of parliament urging an increase to Pharmac's funding so it can make the Keytruda drug available to melanoma patients.

Petitioners said there was no time to waste, and people were dying already. 

Around 360 people die of the sun-induced cancer every year.

Pharmac has said they need to know more about the drug's long term effectiveness and patient survivability.

MORE: Family insists unfunded melanoma drug works

MORE: Cancer Society - NZers deserve access to melanoma treatment

Prime Minister John Key today gave an assurance there'll be more money in the May Budget for health and for Pharmac.

Key said the drug funder's drive is to get the best bang for the taxpayer's buck.

"Keytruda is the one that people talk about but it's not the only alternative," Key said.

"For one in three people it's shown benefits and worked, for two out of three it hasn't.

"The question is, will a drug be funded for melanoma? In my opinion, the answer is yes."

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman met petitioners out the front of Parliament. When asked why the drug was funded in Australia, but not here, he pointed out that Australia has deeper pockets.

"They have an uncapped drug budget - we don't," he said.

"Pharmac gets one hundred million dollars a year and they have to make trade-offs as to what they fund. They have to fund medicines with the greatest effects for the greatest number of New Zealanders."

Leisa Renwick, who organised the petition, said she's happy Jonathan Coleman came down to meet them out the front of Parliament.

"He's come down, he's listened to us, and he's opened a dialogue. I just hope that dialogue continues after today, after the cameras have gone."

Ms Renwick, a math teacher from Tauranga, said her treatment costs $8,500 every three weeks and admits it doesn't work for everyone, but for her, without it she'd be dead.

She said the drug company behind Keytruda assists in the initial treatment stages.

"We pay for the next two, they pay for the next two, and then for the first year we're on our own. And if I need to continue taking it for any longer, then they jump in for every third treatment in the second year."

Melanoma New Zealand's Rosalie Fisher said action is needed, and quickly.

"While this is petition is about one particular drug, I think it represents the need for a number of drugs to be fast-tracked rapidly for patients with melanoma," she said.

Fisher notes that Keytruda doesn't help all patients, but it is suitable for a substantial portion of melanoma sufferers.

Medicines New Zealand general manager Dr Graeme Jarvis said Pharmac is currently under-funded and can take up 12 years to approve funding for medicines.

He said the Government needs to bring medicine funding up to OECD averages.

"So that it can indeed invest in a number of new, innovative medicines that are in some cases curing patients, not just the funding of one singular medicine."

Pharmac has previously said it will keep funding for Keytruda under review but late last year ruled out funding it for patients with advanced metastatic melanoma.