Lung cancer immunotherapy drug NHS agreement

Simon Stevens has announced that NHS England has struck a deal with MSD to make the lung cancer drug pembrolizumab available for routine use on the NHS.

Pembrolizumab, which has been shown to extend life for certain adults with lung cancer for more than a year, is the first drug to break the new budget impact threshold for new products costing more than £20 million a year. Therefore, NHS England has worked closely with MSD, endorsed by NICE, to reach a deal, showing the new system works for patients, the taxpayer and industry.

At its full list price, the drug would have cost around £84,000 per patient, but NHS England and MSD have agreed a confidential arrangement for reimbursement which will enable NICE to recommend it be routinely available on the NHS.

Stevens, NHS England chief executive said: “This is another milestone in our rapidly improving modern NHS cancer care. This win-win deal for patients and taxpayers brings genuine innovation and proven survival gains to cancer patients across England.”

Meindert Boysen, director of the NICE centre for health technology evaluation, added: “We have to make sure that any new treatment we recommend works well and is a good use of NHS resources. Recent changes to the CDF mean we have more flexibility in our process so we can grant early access to promising drugs whilst more data is gathered on their long-term benefits.

“Pembrolizumab is one of the first new cancer drugs to benefit from this flexible approach and it can now be used routinely in the NHS. In the past 20 years there have been few improvements for people with this type of lung cancer so we are pleased to recommend routine access to pembrolizumab on the NHS.”