1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,280 Speaker 1: New cancer drugs could save hospitals and patients both time 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: and money, so Farmac's looking at funding a whole bunch 3 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,840 Speaker 1: of new treatments for cancers MS, breast and lung cancers, 4 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: as well as eye conditions. The big news a new 5 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: injection treatment that could replace IVY infusions, freeing up more 6 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: than twelve thousand hospital hours a year by twenty thirty. 7 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:25,799 Speaker 1: Doctor Kiaren Simon's is Roach, New Zealand Country Medical Director 8 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 1: and joins me this afternoon. 9 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 2: Good afternoon, Hi Ryan, thanks for having me. 10 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: Good to have you. Can you tell us about this 11 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: injection treatment how it works? 12 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:39,319 Speaker 2: Yes, So this is FISCO that you're referring to. So 13 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 2: it combines two active ingredients, petuzamb and trastuzamab, which are 14 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 2: currently given and funded by Farmac as intravenous infusions. So 15 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:53,560 Speaker 2: that means that patients need to go into the hospital, 16 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 2: sit in a chair and have a slow drip into 17 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 2: their veins, usually over several hours. So this new medicine 18 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 2: which FARMAC is consulting on, it's given as an injection 19 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:11,560 Speaker 2: under the skin and it's given just in a few minutes. 20 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 2: So the clinical trials showed that eighty five percent of 21 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 2: people prefer fesgo over the IAV versions. It's a reduction 22 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 2: in eighty three percent in the amount of time that 23 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 2: each individual patient needs to sit in the infusion chair. 24 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 2: And our calculations show that over a period of five 25 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 2: years that the number of hours released in the effusion 26 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 2: clinics is about forty five thousand, and that's about nine 27 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 2: two hundred hours of nurse time and about sixty thousand 28 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 2: hours of pharmacist time. So we think that this, if 29 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 2: this is approved by the FARMAC board, that it would 30 00:01:54,600 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 2: not only offer great health outcomes for women with breast cancer, 31 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 2: but also releasing capacity in a very overstretched system. At 32 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 2: the moment. 33 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: How much extra does it cost? 34 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 2: There is no extra cost to the healthcare system with 35 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:16,399 Speaker 2: the introduction of this medicine. 36 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 1: No, Well, because Farmac's funding it, you mean, presumably it 37 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,080 Speaker 1: is going to be a more expensive option or is 38 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:28,359 Speaker 1: it exactly the same as the current intravenous Yeah. 39 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 2: That's right. So if you add up the cost of 40 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:35,239 Speaker 2: the two IV medicines and also the cost of the 41 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,639 Speaker 2: sort of societal burden of those IV medicines, then the 42 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 2: proposed funding does not cost FARMAC or the healthcare system 43 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 2: more than the current options. 44 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 1: Right, and that's what David Seymour has been pushing for 45 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 1: that FARMAC will look more holistically at the benefits to 46 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: the community overall, not just the upfront cost and how 47 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: many lives might be saved. It's the freeing up of 48 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 1: resources around the hospitals too. 49 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 2: Yes, that's right, that's right, and I mean this is 50 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 2: exciting because if this is approved, it would be the 51 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 2: first time that an intravenous cancer treatment has been made 52 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 2: available as a subcutaneous version. This is not new technology 53 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 2: or new science, but in the past we've not been 54 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:33,399 Speaker 2: able to achieve funding of subcutaneous medicines for cancer. So 55 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 2: if this is approved, it would be a big shift 56 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 2: in treating cancer patients in New Zealand's. 57 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: All right, interesting stuff. Appreciate your time, Doctor Karen Simon's 58 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 1: Roche Country medical Director. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, 59 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: listen live to news Talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, 60 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.