The long-running saga regarding the distribution of a small quantity of free Herceptin for women could finally be coming to an end after the finance ministry gave the green light for the drug to be purchased.
A Health Ministry spokesman said the expensive but potentially life-saving drug should be available within weeks unless Christmas shutdowns delayed matters further.
On November 2, The Sunday Times had quoted Parliamentary Secretary for Health Joe Cassar saying the government should have the supply in hand within three weeks.
However, to their dismay, the four women due for treatment at Boffa Hospital on December 2 discovered they had to fork out money because the free Herceptin was still unavailable.
When one of the women e-mailed the authorities asking for confirmation about the free treatment, her queries remained unanswered, and they were left in the dark.
The small supply of 226 vials of Herceptin, which gives women better odds of beating an aggressive type of breast cancer, was intended as a stopgap measure for those who could not wait until early next year, when Herceptin will be available for free.
The government was spending a one-time amount of €122,000, over and above the €1.3 million a year it would allocate as from 2009, to help the four women who were already taking the drug and struggling to cope with crippling financial burden.
When contacted, Director General for Health John Cachia said a request to proceed with the purchase was placed with the Finance Ministry on November 14.
However, the ministry was concerned that the procurement of this small quantity would somehow affect the adjudication of the main tender for the purchase of a three-year supply, which was issued on October 25 in the EU's official journal Tenders Electronic Daily, and closes on Tuesday.
This tender aims to provide free Herceptin to about 40 patients who need this treatment. Each patient will require about 55 doses a year, depending on their weight, which would mean buying 2,200 doses a year.
As a result of this concern, precious time was lost while extensive discussions between the Health Division and the ministry were held to ensure the necessary conditions were in place so that the procurement of the small quantity did not hamper the main tender's adjudication.
"A first order for initial supplies with the successful contractor will be placed in the coming days, following the issue of the relative confirmation of order," Dr Cachia added.