New Subsidies to Shield Breast Cancer Survivors From High Medicine Costs

From May 1, patients who are eligible for the subsidies will pay at most $31.60 for Verzenio, where some used to pay $97,000 for the two-year treatment course. Illustration - Mark_Kostich/Shutterstock

Early breast cancer survivors who are at high risk of the disease recurring will soon find the preventative medication costing as little as $7.70 (US$5).

An additional 2,400 Australians who have lived through early breast cancer will have the cancer drug, abemaciclib (Verzenio), subsidised under a federal government scheme.

Health Minister Mark Butler said thousands of Australian women get a life-changing breast cancer diagnosis every year.

“The Albanese government is working hard to ensure each one gets the latest and the best treatment at a price they can afford,” Mr. Butler said in a news release.

“This listing of Verzenio will benefit thousands of Australian women, and is yet another example of how the Albanese Government is delivering on its promise to provide cheaper medicines.”

Abemaciclib (Verzenio) is used to prevent the spread of cancer and is often prescribed to Australians who live with a high risk of cancer recurrence.

The treatment is non-chemotherapy and is taken orally. The medicine blocks specific proteins inside cancer cells and halts them from spreading to other cells.

Detail of breast cancer cells. Over a lifetime, one in eight women is diagnosed with breast cancer. American Cancer Society/Getty Images

Real World Impact

Fifty four-year-old mother of two, Natalie Fraser benefited from the treatment after she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019.

Ms. Fraser was told that she was in remission after she underwent a lumpectomy and mastectomy following an early-stage cancer diagnosis.

“I considered myself one of the very lucky people who had a little brush with cancer,” Ms. Fraser said.

However, two years ago the cancer returned in her lymph nodes.

“When the ultrasound operator said ‘I need to get the doctor to have a look at something,’ my heart immediately sank, because I knew what that meant.”

Ms. Fraser underwent surgery to remove her lymph nodes in 2021. She battled chemotherapy for four months and radiation for five weeks before being put on a hormone-blocking treatment, which she is still taking.

Her doctor prescribed her Verzenio in conjunction with the hormone treatment, which was free on compassionate grounds.

“I’ve battled breast cancer twice and right now, I’m cancer-free,” Ms. Fraser said.

“I’m told there is a high risk that it will come back again, but that risk is greatly reduced with Verzenio.

“It’s so important for women in my position to have access to new treatments that can help prevent that from happening.”

Need for the Drug

Previously, the treatment has only been available through the pharmaceutical benefits scheme for patients who have advanced cancer that has spread beyond the breast.

North Sydney Mater Hospital oncologist Professor Fran Boyle said one in eight patients with early-stage breast cancer is classified as high-risk.

Prof. Boyle said that patients with early breast cancer are three times more likely to have the cancer return as an incurable advanced disease.

“We are now able to intensify treatment during the narrow window of opportunity after surgery when patients are treated with curative intent,” she said.

From May 1, patients who are eligible for the subsidies will pay at most $31.60 for Verzenio, where some used to pay $97,000 for the two-year treatment course.

AAP contributed to this report.