On 19 October 2022, the OIC-Secretary of Health (SOH) approved the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) recommendation for the government financing of zoledronic acid (4mg/5mL concentrated solution for IV infusion) for the treatment of patients with malignancy-related bone disease through its inclusion in the PNF. 

In developing its recommendation for zoledronic acid, the HTAC considered the following:

• Comparable to better efficacy and safety profile when compared to other bisphosphonates 
  • Zoledronic acid has comparable to better efficacy in reducing the overall risk of skeletal-related events and attaining better pain relief.
  • Zoledronic acid has a comparable to better safety profile in terms of any adverse events. 
• Cheaper total treatment cost of zoledronic acid than pamidronic acid 
  • The government will save around Php 0.91 billion for using zoledronic acid over pamidronic acid. 
• Insufficient evidence to compare the cost-effectiveness of zoledronic acid with pamidronic acid as the currently available evidence is not applicable to the Philippine setting

Details of the evidence considered and findings may be found in these links: 

Evidence Summary – Zoledronic Acid for Individuals with Malignancy-Related Bone Disease  

HTAC Recommendation preview: