Cancer drug may be funded

A life-prolonging breast cancer drug could soon be publicly funded, saving patients thousands of dollars.

Pharmac has started consultation on a proposal to fund the medicine palbociclib – marketed as Ibrance – for first-line and secondline treatment of certain types of breast cancer.

Provisional agreement on the treatment had been reached with supplier Pfizer, Pharmac said yesterday. Patients could be prescribed Ibrance from April if the feedback from consultation was positive, and the proposal approved by the Pharmac board.

In October 2018, women with advanced breast cancer marched to Parliament to present a petition for Ibrance to be funded.

Currently, Australians can access the drug for $40 a month while in New Zealand it costs $6500 for a three-week cycle.

Yesterday, Pharmac said more than 2000 people would be eligible for the first and second-line treatment in the first year of funding, and up to 950 people over each subsequent year.

‘‘Our clinical experts have told us that these types of medicines can stop or slow down the progression of the cancer, giving people more time to spend with their loved ones.’’

Pharmac chief executive Sarah Fitt said Pfizer had offered the most competitive package.

The Breast Cancer Foundation said the announcement was wonderful news both for patients and people who had campaigned for the drug over the past few years.

The drug, or one of its equivalents, has been funded in Britain and Australia for some time, Breast Cancer Foundation NZ chief executive Evangelia Henderson said.

‘‘These drugs are now considered the standard of care for advanced breast cancer around the world, so it has been very painful for patients to have New Zealand lagging behind.’’

The Cancer Society said the announcement was good news, especially because Pharmac previously ‘‘sat on the fence’’ during the health select committee meeting in September, and said at the time the drugs lacked evidence and had high cost.

Medical director and oncologist Dr Chris Jackson said he all too often had to suggest patients set up fundraisers for their treatment. While he was delighted for patients who needed the drug, he was frustrated by Pharmac’s processes and decision making,

‘‘This drug debate merry-goround has to be sorted out.

‘‘Patients want timely decisions made, transparency and certainty, whereas the current process is more like a black hole.

‘‘People with cancer are petitioning, appealing, riding around campaigning, to highlight the need for better access to drugs, and we only seem to get them with sporadic and unpredictable government cash injections. This is not a sustainable way to do things.’’

‘‘It has been very painful for patients to have New Zealand lagging behind.’’

Evangelia Henderson

Breast Cancer Foundation