ARIMIDEX ADDED TO PBS FOR EARLY BREAST CANCER

The Commonwealth Government will extend the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) listing of the breast cancer treatment, Arimidex from 1 December 2005.

Arimidex has been available for some time on the PBS for the treatment of advanced breast cancer. Until now, Arimidex has only been available for early breast cancer to those women who cannot take tamoxifen. The extension to the listing of Arimidex on the PBS will make it available on a subsidised basis for all postmenopausal women with early stage breast cancer.This is good news for the approximately 5,700 patients will become eligible for treatment with Arimidex in the first 12 months of listing and this will increase to approximately 24,000 new patients in the fifth year of listing. Arimidex offers these women a longer period of disease free survival, or a longer period free of recurrence of breast cancer. Arimidex is also associated with a significant reduction in the risk of experiencing a new primary breast cancer. The annual cost to the PBS will be approximately $2,300 per patient for Arimidex. The extension to the listing of Arimidex will add approximately $75 million to PBS expenditure over the four years to 2009-10.