PHARMAC Funds Paclitaxel

PHARMAC’s decision today to fund the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (taxol) for node positive early breast cancer (from September 1) ensures another chemotherapy treatment option is available to women affected by the disease. The decision has been long anticipated and was welcomed today by breast cancer advocacy group, the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC).

‘Whilst this is great news for women with node positive early breast cancer,’ said Libby Burgess, Chair of BCAC, ‘PHARMAC has taken too long to arrive at this funding decision. Australia has funded this taxane since 2001. PHARMAC’s cancer treatments advisory committee, CaTSoP, gave taxanes a high priority funding recommendation back in November 2004 so it has taken PHARMAC just under two years to fund this drug. That’s just too long.’

BCAC believes another of the taxanes, docetaxel (taxotere), should additionally be fully funded for those women with early stage breast cancer who are unable to tolerate paclitaxel.

‘Women who are physiologically unable to tolerate paclitaxel should have the option of using docetaxel’ said Ms Burgess. We believe that the choice of taxane should be made by the oncologist and the patient, based upon individual need. Docetaxel has the additional advantage of taking only one hour to infuse compared to three hours for paclitaxel so there’s a benefit both for the patient and for hospital services.’