Prostate cancer drug on PBS
Taxotere® (docetaxel) will be available on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from 1 November 2007 for the treatment of patients with androgen independent (hormone refractory) prostate cancer (AIPC).
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Australian men and the second leading cause of male cancer deaths, after lung cancer. An estimated 18,700 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in 2006 and more than 2,900 died of prostate cancer in 2005.
About 1,200 additional people will commence Taxotere® to treat AIPC in the first full financial year of listing.
Taxotere® is the only therapy presently in Australia that effectively prolongs survival for men with AIPC. Taxotere® is currently available on the PBS to treat breast cancer, ovarian cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.
The extension to the listing of Taxotere® will add around $86.4 million to PBS and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme expenditure between 2007-08 and 2010-11.