Life-changing cancer drug now on NHS
A REVOlUTIONARY drug that offers hope to thousands of patients with untreatable tumours will be made available on the NHS.
larotrectinib is an innovative new treatment which was approved for use yesterday after months of negotiation.
It is a tumour-agnostic medicine – meaning it targets cancerous cells according to their genetic make-up, rather than where they are located in the body.
The drug, made by Bayer, marks a different approach to conventional treatment which is based on where the tumour originated.
The breakthrough paves the way for a new era of personalised cancer care which offers hope to those left with no treatment options.
Initially the drug is set to be used on 700 people – mainly children – who suffer from rare types of cancer called NTRk fusions.
But it could treat other cancers in the future to help the 367,000 people who are diagnosed with the disease in the Uk each year. Because the treatment is based on genetics, the drug can be used against a range of cancers such as thyroid and lung cancer, and also other rarer types of the disease.
NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said last night: ‘This breakthrough is the latest example of how the NHS leads the way in the new era of personalised cancer care, even when pulling out all the stops to respond to coronavirus.’
In early trials, tumours responded in two-thirds of the cancers tested and in some cases the tumours disappeared altogether.
larotrectinib costs about £15,000 a month privately. And in January, after months of negotiation, drugs watchdog NICE said it was too expensive to be used in the NHS.
But after further discussions with Bayer, a deal has been reached to use the drug with NHS funding for two years. Testing is to be rolled out once the virus crisis eases.