Health Select Committee reports on Avastin petition
22 April 2021
Brain Tumour Support NZ trustee Chris Tse presents the petition to fund Avastin on the steps of Parliament.
In November 2019 Brain Tumour Support NZ presented a petition to the New Zealand Parliament on behalf of Sel Leigh and the Tahu Hikuroa Foundation calling for the government to publicly fund bevacizumab (Avastin) for relapsed or refractory high-grade gliomas. The Health Select Committee has now published their report on the petition.
Bevacizumab, better known by its trade name Avastin, is a targeted treatment that blocks angiogenesis, the process by which new blood vessels are formed. By blocking the formation of new blood vessels in tumours, Avastin starves the tumour of the blood that it needs to grow.
Although not a cure, Avastin has been shown to slow the progression of high grade gliomas that have relapsed, allowing the patient to live without their tumour growing for longer. In many cases it allows patients who are on steroids (to reduce pressure and swelling in the brain) to decrease their steroid dose. Unfortunately, Avastin has not shown an advantage in overall survival in phase 3 clinical trials, and this has lead to PHARMAC declining to fund it here for brain tumours.
Because of the benefits it provides, Avastin is widely used to treat brain tumours in the United States, where it gained FDA approval in 2009, and in Australia where it is also publicly funded. New Zealand oncologists also commonly prescribe Avastin for brain tumours, however without PHARMAC funding it comes at great cost to the patient. The increased financial burden places added stress to brain tumour patients and their families at a time when they can ill afford it.
PHARMAC’s response to Sel Leigh and the Tahu Hikuroa Foundation’s Avastin petition
The HSC report states that they do not believe that it is Parliament’s role to influence which medicines should be funded, and that they are satisfied with PHARMAC’s decision-making process.
Brain Tumour Support NZ believes that New Zealand brain tumour patients are disadvantaged compared with patients in Australia and elsewhere which have affordable access to Avastin. We believe that part of the problem lies with the PHARMAC budget, which restricts the number of medicines such as Avastin that are funded in New Zealand.
As part of our advocacy in this area, BTSNZ supports Patient Voice Aotearoa (PVA), a charity which is campaigning for better access to healthcare for all New Zealanders. PVA currently has a petition to double the medicines budget and to reform PHARMAC. To mark the presentation of this petition a nationwide event called Lie Down For Life will be held on Wednesday 12 May 2021.