Government drug-buying agency Pharmac announced today it would not fund 12-month courses of the breast cancer drug Herceptin.
Pharmac decided in July 2006 to back just the nine-week course of the drug, used to combat the aggressive HER2 positive form of breast cancer, at an estimated cost to district health boards of about $6 million a year.
But the High Court this year ordered Pharmac to consult on whether it should extend treatment to 12 months - standard in more than 30 countries - following a legal challenge by eight breast cancer patients, labelled the "Herceptin Heroines".
The court found insufficient consultation had been undertaken into the possible benefits of the longer course and instructed Pharmac to start over again.
Pharmac sought public reaction and received over 300 responses before submissions closed on June 9.
To fund the 12 month course would cost around $25 million a year.
