Campaign for Incurable Breast Cancer Drug

Breast Cancer Now launches urgent campaign in final bid to see life-extending drug guaranteed for women living with triple negative incurable breast cancer.

Hopes have been shattered for hundreds of women with incurable triple negative secondary breast cancer, as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has provisionally rejected Trodelvy* for routine use on the NHS in England, leaving them with profound anxiety and uncertainty about their future treatment options.

Women living with this life-limiting disease already face the devastating reality of short prognoses and limited treatment options, but Trodelvy could offer certain patients hope of precious extra months spent with loved ones and doing what matters most to them.

With Trodelvy recommended for use on the NHS in Scotland* just last month, the news could see women in England left behind as they face the prospect of being denied access to the drug in the future unless this decision is reversed.

Breast Cancer Now’s tireless efforts to ensure all women had access to the treatment as soon as it was licensed, and ahead of the decision being reached around its routine use on the NHS, saw the charity launch its #TimeForTrodelvy campaign, and work closely with its patient advocates to successfully secure increased supply of Trodelvy through a pre-reimbursement access scheme run by pharmaceutical company, Gilead. In light of the news, the charity is now calling on Gilead to guarantee their pre-reimbursement access scheme will remain open to all new eligible patients until a final decision around routine access to Trodelvy on the NHS is made by NICE, at the second committee meeting next month.

With a public consultation closing at 5pm on Friday 29 April 2022, Breast Cancer Now is calling for the public to sign its Open Letter and respond to the NICE Consultation directly. Crucially, they are urging Gilead, NICE and NHS England to do everything in their power to ensure Trodelvy becomes routinely available on the NHS, with a key part of this being Gilead ensuring it is affordable, so that all eligible patients across the UK can potentially benefit from this drug.

Baroness Delyth Morgan, Chief Executive at Breast Cancer Now said: ‘Today’s decision is a devastating blow to women with triple negative incurable secondary breast cancer in England. Evidence shows Trodelvy can increase time before a patient’s disease progresses and, crucially, how long they live compared to being treated with chemotherapy. These women, who already face devastatingly poorer prognoses and limited treatment options, deserve the chance to benefit from this new treatment option.

‘We campaigned tirelessly to see eligible patients access Trodelvy and earlier this year, secured a commitment from drug company, Gilead, to expand its pre-reimbursement access scheme to ensure more women could access the drug while we waited on NICE’s decision around its routine use on the NHS. But now, with a matter of weeks until NICE makes its final decision, action is needed more urgently than ever. Together, Gilead, NICE and NHS England must find a solution that sees this potentially life-extending drug made routinely available on the NHS, including Gilead ensuring the drug is affordable for the NHS.

‘In the meantime, Gilead must guarantee that its pre-reimbursement scheme remains open to all new eligible patients as we make every effort to ensure that NICE reverses its decision.’

Sign Breast Cancer Now’s ‘It’s Time for Trodelvy’ open letter to Gilead, NHS England and NICE now: breastcancernow.org/get-involved/campaign-us/time-trodelvy