Women with breast cancer now have another funded drug treatment available.

Under a new agreement Exemestane will be fully funded from August 1 without the need for a special authority approval.

Pharmac medical director Dr Peter Moodie says it is slightly different from Herceptin in that Herceptin is used in the initial treatment of breast cancer, whereas Exemestane is used for some years after the original chemotherapy.

Moodie says it works by blocking the growth of hormone-dependent tumours by lowering the amount of oestrogen in the body.