Time For Trodelvy

Trodelvy which you may also hear referred to as sacituzumab govitecan is a targeted (biological therapy). It delivers a chemotherapy drug straight to cancer cells which have the protein Trop-2 on their surface. This can be the case in many types of cancer, including breast cancer.

This treatment is suitable for patients with unresectable locally advanced or secondary triple negative breast cancer who have had at least two prior therapies.

We are concerned patients living with incurable triple negative secondary breast cancer may be facing a delay before they can access Trodelvy on the NHS, which could provide them with the hope of more time to spend with loved ones.

While the drug is set to be licensed for use soon, it won’t actually be assessed for use on the NHS in England until much later this year with a decision then reached next year– meaning a wait of many months before the women who could benefit from it can access it.

To avoid this delay, we are urging Gilead, the company who own Trodelvy, to provide the drug free of charge on the NHS for a limited time until it is approved for routine use.

We want to see eligible patients with triple negative secondary breast cancer accessing Trodelvy on the NHS between licensing and a NICE decision. For this to happen, we need NHS England and the company, Gilead, to agree an interim access agreement and in particular, Gilead needs to be willing to give the drug away free of charge for a time limited period.

We know it is possible because a similar agreement was reached with a lung cancer drug earlier this year.

Because Gilead, who own Trodelvy, can provide a short-term solution to this problem. Gilead could do the right thing and choose to provide the drug free of charge on the NHS, on a short-term basis, until it is approved for routine use on the NHS.

We know this is possible because in May 2021, an interim access agreement was reached for a lung cancer drug between another company and NHS England enabling patients to access the treatment following licensing and prior to a NICE recommendation so it shows that it is possible to make Trodelvy available too.

While the petition is specifically calling on Gilead to reach an agreement with NHS England to provide Trodelvy for free until it is assessed for routine use on the NHS by NICE, we believe it’s crucial that patients in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland also have access to Trodelvy. That’s why we want Gilead and NHS decision-makers in the devolved nations to work together and explore every possible solution for patients getting early access to Trodelvy.

We believe that if an agreement can be reached in England, it will make it much more likely for similar agreements to be reached in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The drug company that makes Trodelvy, Gilead, has introduced a pre-reimbursement access scheme which means that some patients will now be able to access Trodelvy free-of-charge following licensing and ahead of a NICE decision. However, we are concerned because the scheme is limited in numbers, so currently it cannot guarantee access to this important drug for all eligible patients until a NICE decision. That’s why we are continuing our #TimeforTrodelvy campaign to ensure all eligible patients can access it, when they need it.  To access this scheme, speak to your clinician as they will need to put a request into the drugs company to access the drug.