Breast cancer drug Kadcyla may not be made available to those suffering from the condition because it is too expensive.
The National Centre for Pharmaco-Economics has advised the HSE to reject the drug on the grounds that it is too expensive, at a price of €80,000 for every course of the drug.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Head of The Centre, Professor Michael Barry said that while he and his colleagues are aware of the benefits of this drug, it is not cost effective at the current price.
“We concluded that it wasn’t cost effective at that price. Which means of course that there is a price where it would be cost-effective and we know that price, and we have made that information available to the HSE.
“We’re not saying the drug shouldn’t be made available. We’re just saying that at this price. It means that there is a price where it should be made available.
“And that’s really where the next step goes. There’s a discussion on price”.
It is thought that 30% of the 2,600 women diagnosed with breast cancer in Ireland every year are HER2 positive and Kadcyla, manufactured by Roche, is designed to treat this form of cancer.
While Kadcyla is not a cure, it can help to extend the lives of people with this type of breast cancer when surgery is not an option.
