New Compassionate Access Pharmaceutical Scheme

AstraZeneca have announced a new compassionate access scheme to give more women access to Olaparib sooner.

AstraZeneca’s compassionate access scheme gives newly diagnosed women with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (including fallopian and peritoneal) who also have a germline BRCA mutation (about 20-25% of high-grade serous) and whose cancer responds to platinum-based chemotherapy access to Olaparib maintenance therapy after the completion of their chemotherapy.

Provided women meet these criteria, AstraZeneca will provide the medication at no cost (though there may be some associated pharmacy fees/government tax), allowing women to start treatment immediately, ahead of Pharmac’s funding, which will begin later in the year.

Women who think they may be eligible should speak to their oncologist. 

To qualify for treatment, it must start within a short period of finishing chemotherapy. BRCA testing is currently funded by the public health system however, wait times can vary. Women can ask their doctor for a private genetic counselling appointment if they are concerned about timing.

Most treatments for ovarian cancer are decades and decades old. Thanks to this announcement, 1 in 10 wāhine with ovarian cancer will now have access to a more modern medicine, which is a significant milestone for the ovarian cancer community.

Olaparib is a PARP inhibitor maintenance treatment that targets the cancer DNA repair process. It is currently funded for women who meet the criteria and have recurrent high-grade serous ovarian cancer. In January, we wrote a submission supporting its extension to newly diagnosed women, and we are excited that Pharmac has confirmed funding for this.

Germline mutations are DNA mutations detected through a blood test, and are present in all of the body’s cells. Women with somatic mutations (where the mutation is present in the cancer but not the blood) also benefit from Olaparib, however Pharmac does not currently fund access to the treatment in this situation.

This scheme is in addition to AstraZeneca’s existing compassionate access scheme for women with recurrent high-grade serous ovarian cancer who test negative for the BRCA mutation in their blood. AstraZeneca will partially subsidise tumour testing (cost to patient is $300 AUD) – if a BRCA mutation is found they will provide treatment at no cost (subject to criteria). Patients can ask their oncologist for more information.