Roche Canada and the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) successfully complete negotiations for Perjeta® (pertuzumab) for the neoadjuvant treatment of aggressive early stage breast cancer

• This milestone could help Canadian patients with HER2-positive, early breast cancer access a proven treatment regimen in a neoadjuvant setting.

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Aug. 18, 2026 /CNW/ -- Hoffmann-La Roche Limited (Roche Canada) is pleased to announce that it successfully completed negotiations with the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) for Perjeta (pertuzumab for injection) in combination with trastuzumab and chemotherapy as a neoadjuvant treatment for patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive, locally advanced, inflammatory or early stage breast cancer (either >2 cm in diameter or node positive).¹ The pCPA negotiates price on behalf of the provinces and territories, making the end of these negotiations on August 10, 2026, a critical step in bringing Perjeta in the neoadjuvant setting closer to public access.

HER2-positive breast cancer represents 10–20 per cent of breast cancer cases in Canada and is associated with aggressive disease and high recurrence risk.^1,2 Treating people with breast cancer early, before the cancer has spread, may improve the chance of preventing the disease from returning.² 

Neoadjuvant treatment is given before surgery and is aimed at reducing tumour size so it is easier to surgically remove. Pathologic complete response (pCR) refers to the absence of invasive cancer in the breast and/or lymph nodes and achieving pCR following neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a desirable outcome, frequently, as it enables optimization of subsequent treatment decisions.³ 

Recognizing the critical importance of this treatment approach, the breast cancer community has long advocated for Canadian patient access. In response, public drug programs brought forward a Non-Sponsored Reimbursement Review. Canada's Drug Agency (CDA-AMC) issued a positive recommendation on October 6, 2025,⁴ enabling Roche Canada and the pCPA to commence negotiations in February 2026--a major breakthrough in advancing access to this indication. This collaborative momentum is highly valued, particularly as Perjeta in the neoadjuvant setting represents the established global standard of care for high-risk HER2-positive early stage breast cancer.^5,6

Reaching this important milestone through close collaboration with pCPA has set the stage for the next critical phase. Roche Canada is committed to working with provincial and territorial jurisdictions to move quickly through their reimbursement decisions and make Perjeta in the neoadjuvant setting available as soon as possible through public drug plans for patients who need it.

Quotes:

"We are grateful for the constructive collaboration with our health system partners to finalize this agreement. Alongside this milestone, we applaud clinician and patient advocacy groups, whose tireless commitment keeps patient care at the centre of everything we do. We are now eager to work hand-in-hand with provincial and territorial jurisdictions to ensure every Canadian gains equitable access to this standard of care."

- Simon Yunger, Vice President, Value Pricing and Reimbursement, Roche Canada

"Perjeta in the neoadjuvant setting is valued by health care providers and patients as a neoadjuvant treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. We are thrilled with the completion of negotiations for this essential treatment so that patients can have improved access to it. A breast cancer diagnosis can significantly alter a person's finances, and this is a bigger burden for those already in a precarious situation before their diagnosis. Public funding of staple treatments for individuals diagnosed with breast cancer provides benefits beyond their health."

- Cathy Ammendolea, Board Chair of Canadian Breast Cancer Network (CBCN)

"This is a milestone. After years of advocacy, this much-needed agreement means equitable access for Canadian patients with HER2-positive breast cancer is within reach. This treatment is standard in most countries and may provide high-risk patients with a better outcome from their diagnosis. Today, Canada is closer to closing a critical treatment gap. We will continue to push for timely access to the treatments and innovations that Canadians deserve."

- Kimberly Carson, CEO of Breast Cancer Canada

"For people diagnosed with HER2-positive early breast cancer, today's announcement is an important step forward. Perjeta in the neoadjuvant setting has been available to patients in many countries around the world for years, and now Canadians are one step closer to a treatment with demonstrated efficacy in early breast cancer. We are encouraged to see this resolution reached and hope it reflects a growing commitment to ensuring Canadian patients can benefit from innovation sooner. As new therapies continue to transform what is possible in cancer care, timely access must remain a priority so that people can receive the treatments they need, when they need them most."

- MJ DeCoteau, Founder and Executive Director, Rethink Breast Cancer

About Perjeta (pertuzumab)
Perjeta is a targeted monoclonal antibody designed to bind to the HER2 protein on cancer cells, slowing or stopping their growth. It is specifically engineered to prevent the HER2 receptor from pairing (dimerizing) with other HER receptors (EGFR/HER1, HER3, and HER4), which is a process critical to tumor growth and survival.⁷

Perjeta and trastuzumab complement each other by binding to different sites on the HER2 receptor. When used together with chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting, they deliver a comprehensive dual blockade of HER signaling pathways to inhibit tumor progression.^7,8

HER2-positive breast cancer 
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian women and the second leading cause of cancer death, with an estimated 32,400 diagnoses and 5,400 deaths expected in 2026.⁹ Risk increases substantially with age, predominantly affecting women aged 50 to 69.⁹ Most cases in Canada are diagnosed at an early stage when curative-intent treatment can be used to help prevent recurrence.^10,11,12

HER2-positive disease occurs when cancer cells overproduce the HER2 protein (a substance that normally regulates cell growth) causing cells to divide and grow at an accelerated rate.^13,14

About Roche Canada
At Roche Canada, patients and science are at the heart of everything we do. Our passion for science and our commitment to relentlessly pursuing the impossible for patients have made us one of the world's leading pharmaceutical, in-vitro diagnostics, and diabetes care management companies.

With our combined strength in diagnostics and pharmaceuticals, we're driving healthcare forward, while ensuring we deliver meaningful benefits for patients and sustainable healthcare systems. We are committed to creating a world where we all have more time with the people we love.

And we're adding our expertise in new areas, such as artificial intelligence, real world data collection and analysis, and collaborating with many different sectors and industries.

Having the courage to reinvent ourselves and question the status quo is what patients and healthcare systems expect from Roche - and our commitment is as strong today as it was on the first day of our Canadian journey in 1931. Today, Roche Canada employs around 2,000 people at its offices in Mississauga, Ontario, in Laval, Quebec, and across the country from coast to coast to coast.

For more information, please visit www.RocheCanada.com or follow Roche Canada on LinkedIn.

All trademarks used or mentioned are the property of its respective owners.

References

1. Seung SJ, Traore AN, Pourmirza B, et al. A population-based analysis of breast cancer incidence and survival by subtype in Ontario women. Curr Oncol. 2020;27(2):e191–e198. doi: 10.3747/co.27.5769.
2. Wolff AC, Hammond MEH, Hicks DG, et al. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 testing in breast cancer: ASCO-College of American Pathologists guideline update. J Clin Oncol. 2023;41(22):3867–3872. doi: 10.1200/JCO.22.02864
3. Valenza C, Trapani D, Loibi S, et al. Optimizing Postneoadjuvant Treatment in Patients With Early Breast Cancer Achieving Pathologic Complete Response. J Clin Oncol. 2024;42(20):2372-2376. doi: 10.1200/JCO.23.01935
4. Canada's Drug Agency. CDA-AMC Reimbursement Review: Patient, Clinician and Industry Input for Pertuzumab [Internet]; 2025 March [cited 2026 July 23]. Available from: https://www.cda-amc.ca/sites/default/files/DRR/2025/PX0379-Pertuzumab_consolidated_input.pdf 
5. Loibi S, Andre F, Bachelot T, et al. Early breast cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Ann Oncol. 2024;35(2):159-182. doi: 10.1016/j.annonc.2023.11.016.
6. Kumar A, Jerzak KJ, Gelmon KA, et al. Guidance for canadian breast cancer practice: national consensus recommendations for the systemic treatment of patients with HER2+ breast cancer in both the early and metastatic settings. Curr. Oncol. 2026;33(4):200. doi: 10.3390/curroncol33040200.
7. Perjeta Product Monograph, January 8, 2026.
8. Franklin MC, Carey KD, Vajdos FF, et al. Insights into ErbB signaling from the structure of the ErbB2-pertuzumab complex. Cancer Cell. 2004;5(4):317-28. doi: 10.1016/s1535-6108(04)00083-2
9. Canadian Cancer Society. Breast cancer statistics [Internet]. 2026 April [cited 2026 July 26]. Available from: https://cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-types/breast/statistics 
10. Scharl A, Kühn T, Papathemelis T & Salterberg A. The right treatment for the right patient – personalised treatment of breast cancer. Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd. 2015;75(7):683-691. doi: 10.1055/s-0035-1546270.
11. National Cancer Institute. Cancer stat facts: female breast cancer [Internet]. 2026 January [cited 2026 Jul 24]. Available from: https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/breast.html.
12. Canadian Cancer Society. Risk factors for breast cancer [Internet]. 2024 December [cited 2026 July 24]. Available from: http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/breast/risks/?region=on. 
13. Canadian Cancer Society. HER2 status test [Internet]. 2023 December [cited 2026 July 28]. Available from: https://cancer.ca/en/treatments/tests-and-procedures/her2-status-test 
14. Callahan R & Hurvitz S. HER2-positive breast cancer: current management of early, advanced, and recurrent disease. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 2011;23(1):37-43. doi: 10.1097/gco.0b013e3283414e87

SOURCE Hoffmann-La Roche Limited (Roche Canada)

Media Contact: Lizanor Barrera, Communications Manager, Hoffmann-La Roche Limited (Roche Canada), 416-356-2740, [email protected]