Life extending drug now available to England’s breast cancer patients
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In England, women with HER2-low incurable breast cancer can now receive Enhertu on the National Health Service, after a two-year period when the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) considered the drug too expensive.
NICE initially rejected Enhertu in 2024, but reversed its decision due to a trade deal with the USA that increased NHS funding for medicines by 25%.
This deal raised the amount the NHS will pay for each extra year of good quality life a medication provides, from £30,000 to £35,000, alongside a more nuanced way of measuring patient quality of life. Charities and patients advocated for wider access to Enhertu since the initial rejection. Breast Cancer Now notes that while their efforts succeeded, many patients have died while waiting.
Kate Wills, a patient with HER2-low metastatic breast cancer, expressed immense relief at the news, saying the drug offers her hope of seeing her children through significant life events. The decision affects approximately 1,000 women each year. While Wales is expected to follow suit, the guidance does not extend to Northern Ireland.
Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca, the drug’s manufacturers, have not substantially lowered prices since the initial rejection, but welcome the decision and call for improved access to medications in the future.
