Cancer medication costs between $4500 and $9000 per treatment cycle in Australia, leaving advanced breast cancer patients facing unsubsidised bills reaching $70,000 as negotiations stall.
The private cost of the drug tucatinib leaves families scrambling for funds while federal negotiations with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer drag on. Nine months after receiving a positive recommendation from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee in November 2025, the life-prolonging treatment remains absent from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Affordable access is currently available in 35 countries. Meanwhile, Australian patients like Monica are forced to plan for a future without them.
“What would more time mean for me? More time with my kids, more time creating memories, being there on my children’s first day of school,” Monica said. “You know, just being mum for as long as I can be mum.”
Eight brain lesions and a race against time
Monica was initially diagnosed with stage three HER2-positive breast cancer after finding a lump. She subsequently underwent chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery to treat the disease.
Months later, severe headaches and bone pain revealed eight lesions in her brain. Doctors gave her a prognosis of two to three months with treatment, or four to six weeks without it.
“The prognosis that I was given at the time was two to three months with treatment, four to six weeks without,” she said. Nine months later, she is still undergoing chemotherapy, but tucatinib under the brand name Tukysa stands as her final treatment option.
“I’ve just completed my 21st round of chemo,” she said. “It’s working so far this current chemo, but when this stops working, tucatinib is my last hope.”
Pfizer pricing deadlock stalls PBS listing
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommended tucatinib for metastatic breast cancer in November 2025 at a price lower than what Pfizer requested. Following that recommendation, Pfizer submitted a substantially higher revised pricing proposal for the committee’s consideration.
At its May 2026 meeting, the committee provided advice on the revised pricing proposal, noting that its assessment of effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and estimated usage remained unchanged. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing said that listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme depends entirely on agreement from the pharmaceutical company on the terms of listing.
“Right now we’re heading to nearly 12 months on, and all negotiations have failed,” Breast Cancer Network Australia director Vicki Durston said.
GoFundMe campaigns fill the funding gap
Another Australian mother, Olivia, has waited six months to access tucatinib after her chemotherapy stopped working and she was ruled ineligible for two clinical trials. The financial barrier forces patients to seek alternative funding sources.
“It’s about $8000 a cycle. So that’s 20, 21 days of medication for $8000,” Olivia said. “Once I’ve paid $64,000, then they will provide it for free after that.”
Olivia has raised about half of the required money through a GoFundMe campaign to cover the total treatment costs ranging from $64,000 to $70,000. “I feel bad and very vulnerable asking for help,” she said. “But I just don’t know what else to do because it’s, you know, it’s my life. My boys need their mum.”
Common questions about tucatinib access
What is the medical use of tucatinib?
Tucatinib is prescribed to treat advanced forms of HER2-positive breast cancer, including cases where the cancer has spread to the brain. The medication could extend life by approximately nine months.
Why is tucatinib not subsidised in Australia?
While the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommended the drug in November 2025, negotiations stalled after Pfizer submitted a revised pricing proposal that exceeded the committee’s cost-effectiveness recommendations. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing said that final listing depends on reaching an agreement with Pfizer on the terms of listing.
How much does tucatinib cost privately?
Individual treatment cycles range from $4500 to $9000, with a full unsubsidised course reaching between $64,000 and $70,000.
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