Zoladex access ‘at no cost’ confirmed despite PBS removal

Low-dose goserelin, sold as Zoladex and used to treat breast cancer and endometriosis, will continue to be available to Australian patients despite its removal from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in November.
 
Its manufacturer, AstraZeneca, confirmed the move last week, following protests at plans to remove the 3.6mg implant, which is administered monthly, from the PBS.
 
‘We understand that maintaining continuity of care is essential,’ it said.
 
‘For patients without suitable treatment pathways, AstraZeneca is providing Zoladex monthly (3.6mg) implant at no cost in Australia from 1 November 2026.
 
‘This includes patients who are currently prescribed and patients who may need to be prescribed the implant as a treatment option after 1 November 2026.’
 
Associate Professor Magdalena Simonis, a Melbourne GP with a special interest in women’s health, said she had spoken to the pharmaceutical company after concerns about the treatment were raised publicly last month.
 
For her, the decision is a win for collective lobbying from the Breast Cancer Network Australia, along with the college and patient groups affected.
 
‘That’s a very positive move,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘This is the kind of thing that we want to see through our advocacy – I don’t think that they realised [there] would be such a significant backlash.
 
‘It’s a good demonstration of how directly communicating our needs and concerns with a pharmaceutical company has really been positive.’
 
AstraZeneca’s initial decision to pull the medication gave a continuation option for six months from November, a requirement that has now been removed.
 
The injectable implant was dispensed 92,191 times in the 12 months to the end of May 2026, according to PBS figures, with the treatment covering a range of indications, including breast cancer and endometriosis.
 
All current treatment indications will be covered by the new scheme. 
 
A spokesperson for the pharmaceutical company said the new program is not time-bound and pointed towards contact options for clinicians on its announcement in case of queries.
 
Associate Professor Simonis said that while many women are prescribed the medication by oncologists, she had discussed with AstraZeneca the importance of making the program accessible to GPs.
 
Zoladex was first listed on the PBS in 1991, and the medication has since been subject to several price reductions.
 
AstraZeneca said its latest decision is related to the way the PBS functions.

‘The decision to discontinue [the Zoladex 3.6mg implant] 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,’ it said.
 
While Zoladex has been on the PBS for 35 years, on Monday the pharmaceutical industry peak body Medicines Australia raised fresh concerns about the process for adding new medications to the system.
 
Its report, ‘Bitter Pill: How Australian patients are missing out on the latest medical breakthroughs’, found a quarter of medicines launched around the world over the past 10 years have been listed on the PBS, compared to an approval rate of 46% in the UK and 88% in the US.
 
The report pinpointed 18 medicines covering cancer, mental illness, cardiology, immunology, rare diseases and infectious disease that are available overseas but not in Australia.
 
‘The real number of missing medicines is likely to be much, much higher, but these 18 medicines should be all the proof anyone needs that health standards in Australia are slipping and that is due to one thing – chronic underinvestment in the PBS,’ said Medicines Australia chief executive Elizabeth de Somer.
 
‘If the public knew just how many innovative medicines are now bypassing Australia because of an outdated process, they would be justifiably alarmed.
 
‘The time for Government to see higher spending on innovative medicines as a cost and not as a long-term investment must finish.’
 
The Federal Government is currently carrying out a Health Technology Assessment Review, which has 50 recommendations for policies, funding and approvals for emerging health technologies, including a review of guidelines used by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.
 
There has been a significant increase in focus on the PBS in recent months, following the withdrawal of other medications from the flagship medicines scheme.
 
Recently Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler described the medications market as being ‘in a state of enormous flux’, citing the impact of policies such as the ‘Most Favoured Nations’ under President Donald Trump.
 
However, there was good news recently for patients with multiple sclerosis, who had been warned of the potential withdrawal from the PBS of two treatments, ocrelizumab and ofatumumab, due to ‘government-driven policy-related price reduction’.
 
Last week, it was confirmed those treatments will remain on the PBS while a rapid review takes place.
 
The review is due to be complete by the end of this year.
 
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