Breast cancer drug approved for use in NHS in Scotland
- Charities have called on NHS watchdog to reverse its provisional decision
- More than 115,000 people have also signed a petition
- Kadcyla is known to extend patients’ lives by six months on average
Ben Spencer
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Kate Foster For The Daily Mail
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A breast cancer drug set to be withdrawn in England was approved yesterday for routine use in Scotland.
Kadcyla, widely considered the biggest breakthrough treatment in the past decade, has been available to women in England for nearly three years through the temporary Cancer Drugs Fund.
But NHS watchdog NICE said in a draft decision that the average £90,000-per-patient price is too high. Last night cancer charities called on NICE to reverse its provisional decision and grant permanent access to the drug.
Breast cancer patients Anne MacLean-Change, centre, and Alison Tait, right, react to the decision to make Kadcyla routinely available alongside charity director Mary Allison
If it does not, women in Scotland will be the only patients in the UK eligible to receive Kadcyla free on the NHS, meaning more than 1,200 women a year in England would miss out.
Kadcyla is known to extend patients’ lives by six months on average. Some are still alive after five years.
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The Scottish Medicines Consortium said the drug offers patients ‘a significant increase in overall survival and quality of life’. This gives women more time with their family and in some cases patients had even been able to return to work after receiving the treatment.
Breast Caner Now chief Baroness Delyth Morgan, said it was ‘absolutely fantastic news’ that Kadcyla would be available to patients in Scotland but called on NICE to make it available on the NHS in England
The decision shows again the divide between the NHS in Scotland, where the Scottish government makes rationing decisions, and in England.
Kadcyla treats advanced HER2-positive breast cancer, which accounts for one-fifth of the 45,000 new cases of the disease in Britain each year and which can be particularly aggressive. Until now, women in Scotland seeking the drug have had to pay for it privately.
More than 115,000 people have signed a petition calling on NICE to reverse its decision that could see women in England having to pay. Announcing the provisional rejection of Kadcyla in December, Professor Carole Longson of NICE said: ‘The reality is that the price is currently too high in relation to the benefits it gives.’
Manufacturer Roche said it is negotiating with NICE to reverse the decision but cost is the sticking point. Roche said it would charge the NHS the full price for a 14-month course – typically around £90,000 – but would provide the drug free for any patient who lived longer. Overall, 15 per cent survive more than 14 months and of these many live for several years.
Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive of the charity Breast Cancer Now, said it was ‘absolutely fantastic news’ that Kadcyla would be available to patients in Scotland but called on NICE to make it available on the NHS in England where ‘thousands of patients… are still living in desperate hope’.
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