Price cut sees breast cancer drug approved for NHS use

The drug pertuzumab has been approved for use in the NHS, after the manufacturer agreed a substantial discount on the list price.

Perjeta, the brand name of pertuzumab, can help shrink breast cancer tumours before patients undergo surgery to remove them. It is reported to be helpful in the treatment of 1,400 women a year who develop a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer.

Pertuzumab is used in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and docetaxel (a type of chemotherapy), to shrink tumours prior to surgery, to help treat the 10-15 per cent of breast cancers that are HER2-positive, which can be particularly aggressive.

The National Institute for Healthcare Excellence (NICE) initially turned down the treatment because of the high price set by the manufacturer, Roche - also highlighting uncertainty that the drug treatment would help prevent the cancer coming back.

Prof Carole Longson, director of the centre for health technology assessment at Nice, said: “The committee recognised that the comparatively early regulatory approval for pertuzumab had limited the clinical trial evidence available for the purposes of long-term modelling and health technology assessment. We therefore welcome the company’s offer to share the long-term financial risks of a positive recommendation for the NHS by providing pertuzumab at a discounted price.”

She also said that the price discount ‘represents a cost-effective use of NHS money’. The list price of pertuzumab is £2,395 per 420mg vial (excluding VAT). The total cost of four cycles of treatment with pertuzumab – the maximum Nice says should be used – would be £9,580 before the agreed discount.

Mia Rosenblatt, assistant director of policy and campaigns at Breast Cancer Now, said: “Perjeta is the first addition to primary breast cancer treatment to be approved by Nice since 2006 and marks the introduction of a new type of breast cancer medicine, to be used before surgery.

“For the small number of women eligible, this drug could mean an enormous amount. It could help shrink their tumours to reduce the extent of the surgery they require or even make inoperable cancers operable.”