A lifesaving drug will remain accessible to patients struggling with cancer and endometriosis. <\/p>\n
AstraZeneca announced that Zoladex, a drug used to reduce sex hormone levels, would continue to be made available to patients. <\/p>\n
It had been scheduled to be pulled from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and the private market in November; however, options to access it will now exist for patients \u201cwithout suitable treatment pathways.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor patients without suitable treatment pathways, AstraZeneca is providing Zoladex monthly (3.6mg) implant at no cost in Australia from 1 November 2026,\u201d the company said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision to discontinue the Zoladex monthly implant from Australia\u2019s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme reflects the way the PBS currently works, which means that the price offered is too low, making it unsustainable to supply the medicine on the PBS.\u201d<\/p>\n
AstraZeneca received widespread pressure from Zoladex patients, including a Change.org petition calling on the company to reverse the decision and create clear transition plans for patients. <\/p>\n
The petition received more than 40,000 signatures and was shared more than 20,000 times. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo one should find out through the news that a medication forming part of their treatment plan may be taken away,\u201d the petition read. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo patient should be left wondering whether their care will be interrupted. No doctor should be forced into rushed treatment changes because of a corporate decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zoladex, also known as goserelin, is designed to suppress patients\u2019 hormones that may be contributing to the cause or growth of certain types of cancers. <\/p>\n
Specifically, the drug is used to treat prostate cancer in men as well as breast cancer and endometriosis in women. <\/p>\n
The Breast Cancer Network Australia released a statement about the continuity program, saying the solution was not a sustainable \u201clong-term fix\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand that crucial questions around cost, ongoing access, and practical arrangements remain unanswered \u2013 and that this creates ongoing uncertainty for so many of you,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile this update offers some guidance on how eligible patients might continue accessing the monthly option once it is off the PBS, it isn\u2019t a long-term fix.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zoladex is administered once a month with a small pellet injected underneath the patient\u2019s skin. <\/p>\n
A higher dose 10.8mg option is available for patients, to be administered once every three months, but it is not included through the PBS scheme. <\/p>\n
Since the response to the removal of the smaller dose, AstraZeneca has submitted to include the higher dose in the scheme. <\/p>\n
Breast Oncology nurse Jenny Gilchrist said the changes were unacceptable and praised the commitment from advocacy groups to reverse the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the announcement that Zoladex 3.5mg was being withdrawn from the market, clinicians and Breast Cancer Network Australia stood together, moved quickly and spoke with one clear united voice. This is unacceptable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGlobal commercial decisions must not be allowed to undermine best practice care here in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A lifesaving drug will remain accessible to patients struggling with cancer and endometriosis. AstraZeneca announced that Zoladex, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[20662],"tags":[39963,39973,39931,39810,39945,39903,39974,39965,39949,39894,39936,39939,39968,39927,39971,39897,39962,39981,39966,39972,39917,11153,583,39912,39926,39923,39960,39929,29333,39916,39911,39943,2407,39920,25864,25210,39955,39895,39969,39918,39904,39899,39942,9845,39902,39944,39935,39900,39967,39954,10469,39977,39937,39934,39958,39905,35018,2718,27265,39907,6181,39901,39959,39928,39932,39961,39980,39970,39975,39922,39950,39896,22039,39919,39898,39914,39924,39976,39915,39930,39956,39909,39906,39953,39913,39978,39941,39952,39938,39951,39947,39921,39940,39910,39948,39908,39957,39933,39979,5,39964,3507,27263,39946,39925],"class_list":["post-93569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-astrazeneca","tag-unacceptable","tag-s-pharmaceutical-benefits-scheme","tag-s-skin","tag-39810","tag-000-signatures","tag-000-times","tag-3-6mg","tag-40k-fight","tag-a-change-org-petition","tag-a-corporate-decision","tag-a-drug","tag-a-higher-dose-10-8mg-option","tag-a-lifesaving-drug","tag-a-long-term-fix","tag-a-medication","tag-a-month","tag-a-small-pellet","tag-a-statement","tag-a-sustainable-long-term-fix","tag-advocacy-groups","tag-an-important-update","tag-astrazeneca","tag-australia","tag-best-practice-care","tag-breast-cancer-and-endometriosis","tag-breast-cancer-network-australia","tag-breast-oncology-nurse-jenny-gilchrist","tag-cancer-and-endometriosis","tag-cancers","tag-certain-types","tag-clear-transition-plans","tag-clinicians","tag-cost","tag-crucial-questions","tag-decision","tag-eligible-patients","tag-every-three-months","tag-global-commercial-decisions","tag-goserelin","tag-hormones","tag-life-changing-drug","tag-life-threatening-illnesses","tag-lifesaving-cancer-and-endometriosis-drug-zoladex","tag-men","tag-more-than-20","tag-more-than-40","tag-no-cost","tag-no-doctor","tag-no-one","tag-no-patient","tag-november","tag-november-2026","tag-one-clear-united-voice","tag-ongoing-access","tag-ongoing-uncertainty","tag-options","tag-part","tag-patients","tag-pbs","tag-practical-arrangements","tag-prostate-cancer","tag-rushed-treatment-changes","tag-sex-hormone-levels","tag-so-many","tag-some-guidance","tag-substantial-community-pressure","tag-suitable-treatment-pathways","tag-the-announcement","tag-the-breast-cancer-network-australia","tag-the-cause-or-growth","tag-the-changes","tag-the-commitment","tag-the-company","tag-the-continuity-program","tag-the-decision","tag-the-drug","tag-the-higher-dose","tag-the-market","tag-the-medicine","tag-the-monthly-option","tag-the-news","tag-the-patient","tag-the-pbs","tag-the-pbs-scheme","tag-the-petition","tag-the-pharmaceutical-benefits-scheme","tag-the-price","tag-the-private-market","tag-the-removal","tag-the-response","tag-the-scheme","tag-the-smaller-dose","tag-the-solution","tag-the-statement","tag-the-way","tag-the-zoladex-monthly-implant","tag-their-care","tag-their-treatment-plan","tag-this-update","tag-uk","tag-widespread-pressure","tag-women","tag-zoladex","tag-zoladex-3-5mg","tag-zoladex-patients"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}