News | Sunday, 21 December 2008

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Breast cancer patients told to buy next Herceptin dose

Karl Schembri
Breast cancer patients in need of the costly drug Herceptin were told once again to buy their next dose due on Christmas Eve as the batch ordered from the UK by the government after months of delays had not yet arrived.
The drugs were promised by Health Parliamentary Secretary Joe Cassar to arrive at the end of November, but the approval to buy a small quantity of Herceptin until the full tender is adjudicated was only approved on 10 December.
“Yesterday we called Boffa Hospital, as we had been instructed to do, to check if the batch of free Herceptin had arrived,” one of the patients said yesterday. “But nobody had a confirmation and we were told that once again we have to buy our next dose. We’ve been taken for a ride, that’s all.”
Health department officials are blaming the finance ministry for the delay, but that offers little consolation to the cancer patients who need it. Earlier this month, another patient using Herceptin said that with her next treatment due on Christmas Eve, she hoped that by that time the medicine would have arrived.
“It’s been really unfair and unethical of Dr Cassar to raise our hopes and then let us down once again,” she said.
Director General for Health Dr John Cachia said that while government approved Herceptin to be on the formulary of medicines on the health service at the end of September, the official request for a small supply of Herceptin was only made on 14 November, while the finance ministry only gave the final approval on 10 December.
At present, there are three cancer patients undergoing Herceptin treatment.
A call for quotations issued by the government for the supply Herceptin has resulted in three shockingly different prices. The lowest offer was made by UK-based pharmaceutical wholesaler, Miller & Miller, whose price for 10 vials of Herceptin was set at €5,756.81. In contrast, Cherubino – the Maltese wholesaler from whom breast cancer patients are buying their medicine – gave a price that was €1,779.61 more expensive, totalling €7,536.42 for 10 vials. Another UK-based company, P&D, quoted the price of €9,341.79 for the same amount.

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