A new breast cancer drug that has been approved for use in England should get the go-ahead in Scotland, a leading cancer charity has said.
The drug trastuzumab emtansine can extend the lives of women with secondary breast cancer by as much as six months and should be made available in Scotland at the lowest possible price, according to the Scottish branch of the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer.
The Cancer Drugs Fund approved the use of the drug in England earlier this week while the Scottish Medicines Consortium is expected to assess the drug later this year.
While trastuzumab emtansine is not a cure it has more manageable side effects and gives a better quality of life, explained James Joplin, director for Scotland at the charity.
He said: “We urge the SMC to give due consideration about how innovative this drug is, along with its value to patients, and do everything within its powers to give approval. We’re also calling on the manufacturer to set the lowest possible price.
“Around a thousand women died from secondary breast cancer in Scotland last year, yet some medicines that would have given these women extra precious quality time with their families are not available in Scotland, leaving clinicians and patients with few options.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said that changes to the systems for approving and accessing new medicines for use in the NHS will be introduced later this year and trastuzumab emtansine could be one of the first medicines assessed.
She said: “These changes, which are being implemented by the Scottish Medicines Consortium, are anticipated to help patients get new medicines quicker as they are more likely to be approved the first time they are submitted to the SMC, avoiding unnecessary time consuming resubmissions.”
Trastuzumab emtansine is a combination of herceptin and a potent chemotherapy drug DM1.
Working together the two molecules target the HER2-positive cancerous cells – found in patients with secondary cancer – to deliver chemotherapy directly and leaving healthy cells relatively untouched.