A life-extending drug for incurable breast cancer will not be made available through the NHS because of the cost.
Campaigners reacted with outrage to the decision on trastuzumab deruxtecan, sold under the brand name Enhertu, saying it deprives patients of “precious hope”.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said it was “deeply disappointed” it could not recommend the drug because of its price.
However, the companies behind the drug called on the NHS watchdog to ‘evolve’ the way treatments are assessed.
The charity Breast Cancer Now said it was “devastated and angry” that patients “have been left in the middle of a stalemate over costs and a system that is robbing them of precious hope”.
A life-extending drug for incurable breast cancer will not be made available on the NHS because of its cost
Campaigners reacted with outrage to the decision on trastuzumab deruxtecan, sold under the brand name Enhertu, saying it robbed patients of ‘precious hope’
Enhertu is the first approved targeted treatment for patients with HER2-low breast cancer that cannot be removed with surgery or that has spread, also called metastatic breast cancer.
In September, Nice published draft guidance stating that the drug would not be recommended for use by the NHS in England due to uncertainties in the information provided.
The review was then paused in December while talks with pharmaceutical companies Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca were held. In March, it was announced that the talks had ended without a price agreement and the treatment was blocked.
However, in May, Nice paused the publication of its final guidance, which it said was aimed at “enabling all parties to reach a rapid commercial solution”. Helen Knight, Nice’s director of drug evaluation, insisted that flexibility had been offered at a “fair price”, but the companies did not propose new ones. “We are deeply disappointed that we cannot recommend Enhertu for use,” she said.
The charity Breast Cancer Now said it was “devastated and angry” that patients “have been left in the middle of a stalemate over costs and a system that is robbing them of precious hope”
About 1,000 patients a year would have been eligible. Both companies said they were disappointed. “Nice is misclassifying HER2-low metastatic breast cancer as an intermediate disease,” they said in a statement, citing other European countries, including Scotland, that already offer routine access. “We call on Nice to improve the way treatments are assessed.”
Breast Cancer Now has previously reported that the drugs give women an extra six months of life.
A spokesman said: “We are both devastated and angry that women’s lives have been cut short by this. This was an avoidable tragedy. These women do not have time to wait.”