Herceptin decision is budget based

Herceptin decision is budget based, not evidence based

Tuesday, 20 March 2007

Roche Products (New Zealand) Limited believes PHARMAC's decision to fund Herceptin® (trastuzumab) for nine weeks as opposed to the internationally accepted 52 week treatment period is a compromise, made for reasons of budget control as opposed to clinical evidence.

"Clearly, shorter treatment durations provide PHARMAC with financial benefits which enables them to meet their budgetary constraints", says Svend Petersen, managing director of Roche Products (New Zealand) Ltd.

Evidence from four independently conducted studies using 12 months of Herceptin therapy and involving 10,000 women has been provided to PHARMAC for their review. Based upon this same evidence, Medsafe has granted a license for 12 months of treatment and 23 OECD countries now reimburse Herceptin for 12 months as the norm.

The nine week regimen proposed by PHARMAC is based upon one small arm of a study that involved only 232 women. Despite many New Zealand oncologists and PHARMAC's own cancer sub-committee having greater confidence in 12 months of therapy, this small study is being given equal importance and weighting by PHARMAC in their decision making processes.

Mr Petersen says no other OECD country is funding Herceptin for nine weeks exclusively, and Roche is concerned PHARMAC's decision is being driven by the need for PHARMAC and District Health Boards to stay within allocated pharmaceutical budgets.

"Roche is disappointed that New Zealand women with HER2 positive early breast cancer will not be offered the same standard of care, as women across the rest of the OECD."

Around $185 per New Zealander per year is budgeted for medicines, almost half of the $355 per person provided in Australia.

"The challenge of funding significant new advances like Herceptin in New Zealand under this type of fiscal constraint is not going to disappear" Mr Petersen says.

Decades of investment in biotechnology are now producing major advances in a wide variety of diseases. While this innovation does come with a financial cost, Mr Petersen says innovations such as Herceptin can provide real value in return for the investment made.

"By reducing the chances of breast cancer returning, Herceptin reduces the costs of ongoing treatments and hospitalisation associated with advanced (relapsed) disease."

"Given the Herceptin outcome, we have to ask ourselves as New Zealanders whether $185 per person is enough to budget for medicines in today's environment" Mr Petersen says.

"The government has significantly increased it's investment into health over the last five years, but the medicines budget has not kept pace. Today's announcement on Herceptin clearly reflects that."

Roche Products (NZ) Limited remain committed to providing all parties with additional evidence in support of Herceptin as it becomes available in order to continue to best serve the needs of NZ women with early HER2 positive breast cancer.

About Roche

Roche Products (New Zealand) Ltd is committed to providing innovative products for cancer care in New Zealand. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's leading research-orientated health groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche's products and services address prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, enhancing well-being and quality of life. Roche employs some 62 000 people in more than 150 countries around the world. The company has business alliances and R&D relationships with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai, which are both members of the Roche Group.

Consumer Information

Herceptin (trastuzumab) is a Prescription Medicine used to treat patients with early breast cancer and metastatic (spreading) breast cancer who have tumours with a large amount of the HER2 protein.
Tell your doctor if you have coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, heart failure, lung tumours or disease, or if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Possible unwanted effects: Common: chills, shivering, fever, nausea, vomiting, pain, stiffness, shaking, headache, dizziness, cough, skin rash, itchy skin, weakness, fatigue, abnormal or fast heart beat, insomnia, anxiety, depression, runny or blocked nose, cold/flu-like symptoms, chest infection, worsening cough, pain on urination, diarrhoea, hair loss, muscle or joint soreness. Serious: shortness of breath or breathing difficulty, severe cough, severe swelling of feet or legs, chest pain, abnormal heart beat, severe diarrhoea, feeling faint.

Ask your oncologist if Herceptin is right for you. Use strictly as directed. If symptoms continue or if you experience side effects or would like further information, please talk to your oncologist or visit www.medsafe.govt.nz for Herceptin Consumer Medicine Information. Herceptin (150mg and 440mg vials) is a funded medicine only for patients with metastatic (spreading) breast cancer who meet pre-defined criteria. A prescription charge and normal oncologist fees may apply.

ENDS

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