Hundreds to benefit from PHARMAC funding

Hundreds of New Zealanders to benefit from PHARMAC funding for cancer medicine

News release

Tuesday, 16 June 2009

For immediate release

New Zealanders diagnosed with indolent (low grade) non Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) now have expanded funding for a cutting edge biotherapy, MabThera® (rituximab), increasing their chances of beating this slowly progressing but often fatal disease.

Today PHARMAC announced that, from July 1, it will be fully funding MabThera for the first line treatment of indolent lymphoma.[1] Prior to this decision, funding for MabThera was restricted to patients who had already been treated with chemotherapy and whose cancer had returned (relapsed).[2]

Peter Browett, Medical Director for the Leukaemia and Blood Foundation, says more than 200 people each year will benefit from the extended funding criteria, increasing both the length and quality of their lives.

“MabThera is an important breakthrough in the treatment of indolent lymphoma and a large step forward in the way we treat this disease in New Zealand. Full PHARMAC funding means that we will be able to treat a large group of patients who previously were not able to be treated until their disease progressed.”

Professor Browett says indolent lymphomas are slow growing forms of the disease with recent studies showing that MabThera added to chemotherapy significantly prolongs the life of patients with follicular lymphoma, the most common form of indolent NHL, when compared to chemotherapy alone.

“MabThera plus chemotherapy offers better responses and longer symptom-free periods than chemotherapy alone. MabThera is a very valuable tool and we’re happy that we now have the option to treat patients with this combination of therapies.”

MabThera is already funded for the first-line treatment of aggressive NHL, a faster growing form of the disease, in combination with chemotherapy.2

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