Enhertu becomes available on England’s NHS after campaign for wider access

Patients in England with HER2-low incurable breast cancer can now receive Enhertu through the NHS. NICE changed its assessment after adjustments to medicine-value calculations and a commercial agreement, although charities say the delay cost patients valuable time.

Doctors in England can now prescribe Enhertu to patients with HER2-low metastatic breast cancer, following a change in guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The treatment is expected to affect about 1,000 women each year and can extend life by almost seven months on average, according to the supplied BBC report.

Enhertu was previously judged too expensive by NICE in 2024. Women in Scotland have been able to receive it through the NHS since 2023, while the drug is also available in 26 other European countries. Wales is expected to follow shortly, but the English guidance does not automatically apply in Northern Ireland.

The change follows a commercial agreement and revisions to the way NICE assesses medicines. The BBC reports that the upper threshold for the cost of an additional quality-adjusted life year rose from £30,000 to £35,000, while NICE also introduced a different method for assessing patients’ quality of life. The drug companies Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca have not substantially reduced their prices, the BBC says.

Health Secretary Yvette Cooper called Enhertu “life-changing” and paid tribute to campaigners and charities. Breast Cancer Now chief executive Claire Rowney said campaigners’ persistence had succeeded but warned that thousands of people had missed out and many had died during the delay. NICE medicines evaluation director Helen Knight said the decision came too late for many families, while describing the commercial solution as enabling NHS access.

Kate Wills, 51, who has cancer that has spread to her bones and lungs, told the BBC she was relieved and overjoyed after learning she could receive the treatment. She said access gave her hope of living to see her children fall in love and marry, while also remembering her friend Jeannie Ambrose, who died in January after campaigning for access.

AstraZeneca welcomed the decision but called for stronger collaboration to provide faster and fairer access in future. Breast Cancer Now said the government, NICE, NHS England and pharmaceutical companies should address what it described as a system that forces people with incurable cancer to campaign for treatments that could extend their lives.