Dear Keely and ladies
This is Kathy from BCNA's Policy Team. I am sorry to hear about your situation Keely. I want to explain why Perjeta is only listed on the PBS as a first line treatment.
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC), which is the committee the makes recommendations to the government about which drugs should be added to the PBS, considers a number of different factors when making its decisions. One of these is the efficacy (effectiveness) of a new drug and whether it is better than the current standard treatment. The PBAC evaluates findings from clinical trials to make this decision. The original clinical trials for Perjeta trialled it as a first line treatment only, so the evidence to support its use when the PBAC made its decision was in the first line setting only. To have it listed on the PBS as a later line treatment, clinical trials would need to show that it is better than other available treatments and Roche would need to make a new application to PBAC.
If you are still considering whether to pay for Perjeta, you might like to ask your medical oncologist why he/she thinks it is better for you than other treatments that are available through the PBS (such as Kadcyla) and how superior it would be to other treatments. You could also ask how long he/she thinks you might be on it - this would help you to work out what it might cost you.
Please feel free to call our Helpline and talk to one of the nurses if you think it would help you to talk through this decision with someone.
Best wishes
Kathy
