Australian Funding for Herceptin Wins Praise From BCAC

The Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) is delighted that the Australian government has moved so rapidly to fund Herceptin for the treatment of early stage Her 2 positive breast cancer. The decision was announced today by the Minister of Health and Ageing, Tony Abbott.

‘We anticipated this decision following the positive recommendation in July by PBAC (Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee), Australia’s equivalent to Pharmac,’ said Libby Burgess, Chair of BCAC. ‘We expect similar news from the UK in the near future given the recommendation to fund by their National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).’

Mr. Abbott said that Herceptin will provide a significant improvement in freedom from cancer recurrence. The recently released 23 month follow-up data from the HERA study, involving over 5,000 women, has show that even over this short time Herceptin reduces the risk of dying by 33%. Such positive results are unprecedented in the cancer treatment field.

‘Pharmac has now looked at the same data as Australia and the UK and we would be very surprised if they reach a different conclusion,’ said Ms Burgess.

‘The decision to fund Herceptin shows that Australia is prepared to back its women and invest in their futures. We hope the New Zealand government will do likewise. The cancer treatments budget must be increased to bring our standard of care up to that of Australia.’