AstraZeneca is removing Zoladex 3.6mg (goserelin 3.6mg) from the PBS on 1 November – and the product will no longer be available to purchase with private prescriptions either.

The company said it is withdrawing the monthly Zoladex 3.6mg implant from the Australian market for “commercial reasons,” not safety or efficacy concerns.

It has advised that clinicians begin planning to transition patients to a suitable alternative.

However, AstraZeneca said it will provide free access to the Zoladex 3.6mg implant to eligible patients who don’t have alternative treatment pathways for six months after the product is discontinued. “The access program will be initiated from 1 November 2026 for six months and reviewed approximately every six months,” an update published by the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand explained.

The Zoladex 10.8mg implant (goserelin 10.8mg) and other gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists are still listed on the PBS for the prostate cancer and endometriosis indications, according to a statement by the PBS.

AstraZeneca is applying to expand the indication for the three-monthly Zoladex 10.8mg implant to include breast cancer patients that are hormone receptor positive – and to have the product listed on the PBS for that indication.

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing said in May that it had attempted to retain the 3.6mg product listing on the PBS. “However, sponsors are private entities that make their own decisions regarding their medicines and cannot be compelled by the Government to continue to list a product on the PBS.”