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Pharmac has given the go ahead to fund a nine-week course of Herceptin in combination with a taxane drug for women with early HER2-positive breast cancer.
The decision comes after a period of consultation and after a group of women campaigning for a full-year course of the drug said they would seek a judicial review of how Pharmac decided on funding for the drug.
A joint release from Pharmac and District Health Boards (DHBs) said 350 women each year would benefit from the Herceptin funding decision announced today.
Funding will be available from July 1 in a move that represents an investment of $6 million a year by DHBs.
Pharmac's deputy medical director, Dilky Rasiah, said the decision was a positive step for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer in New Zealand.
"This way of using Herceptin has been shown to reduce the chances of breast cancer tumours returning as effectively as any of the longer treatment duration studies," Dr Rasiah said.
The shorter treatment was cost-effective and affordable for health boards.
Pharmac's criteria for decision-making included cost relative to clinical benefit and risks, total cost, the impact on DHB resources and government priorities for health funding.
Funding for 12 months of treatment could not be justified under this criteria.
Wairarapa DHB chief executive David Meates, a spokesman for DHBs on pharmaceuticals, said DHB cancer centres would be able to implement funded treatment from July 1.
- NZPA
