Claire Rowney, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said:
“If, as reports suggest, the government were to significantly increase the cost-effectiveness threshold for medicines, this could be a game-changer that sees more people getting access to vital life-extending treatments.
“Crucially, this change could mean the NHS is able to pay more for some medicines, including drugs for incurable secondary breast cancer that could give people more time to live and be there for the moments that matter.
“For too long cost-effectiveness thresholds have jeopardised the approval of some groundbreaking new medicines. Just last year patients faced the devastating blow of Enhertu being rejected for HER2-low secondary breast cancer on grounds of cost-effectiveness, potentially cutting thousands of women’s lives short.
“We’ve been urgently calling for secondary breast cancer patients to get access to the drugs they so desperately need and deserve – and if these proposals were adopted they could help pave the way for making this a reality. Pharmaceutical companies would also have a crucial role to play in ensuring any changes translate to increased access to new medicines for people living with the disease.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
These reported changes would apply to NICE decisions made in England, and Wales and Northern Ireland adopt those decisions.