Funding boost nears for breast cancer drug

Pharmac will meet on Thursday to discuss extending funding of the breast cancer drug Herceptin to women who have early stage cancer.

At present the drug is funded only for those with advanced cancer and extending the funding will add $30 million to the Government's cancer budget of $47 million.

"At this stage, it's not about cost. It's about the safety and the efficacy of the drug, and that's what we're assessing at the moment," said Pharmac medical director Dr Peter Moodie.

"We're keeping a completely open mind about it. Our interest in the drug has been very real, and what we have done is we've started the wheels in motion."

Pharmac's Pharmacology Therapeutics Advisory Committee was considering the matter ahead of approval of use from authorising body Medsafe, said Dr Moodie.

Herceptin has been shown to be effective against early stage HER2 positive cancers, an aggressive form of cancer which comprises up to 30 per cent of all breast cancers.

International trials involving 13,000 women have shown a 46 per cent improved survival rate than those who received standard treatment. They were also less likely to have their cancer recur. But its cost means stark choices for most women.

Breast Cancer Advocacy Coalition chairwoman Libby Burgess wants the Minister of Health to inject the $30 million required into the cancer treatment budget.

"It's a lot of money but we're taking about a lot of lives that can be saved," said Ms Burgess.

"The situation in New Zealand is that many women are having to fundraise, to mortgage their house, or to try to raise funds within their community or family. And it's tragic. The fact is that many women simply can't raise the money needed for this life-saving treatment."

About 2500 women in New Zealand are diagnosed with breast cancer annually and over 600 succumb to it.

Pharmac and Roche Products (New Zealand), which supplies the drug locally, announced six months ago that they were working together to fast-track the assessment process for extending funding subsidies.

A Roche spokesman said the company was happy with the way talks have been progressing.