NHS PRESCRIPTION OF HERCEPTIN FOR BREAST CANCER

Motion Text

That this House welcomes the excellent results of the trials of the drug Herceptin for women with early stage breast cancer; notes that around 41,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year and that Herceptin may save 1,000 lives each year; welcomes, therefore, the Secretary of State for Health's decision to introduce testing for suitability to Herceptin for all women diagnosed with breast cancer and the fast-track referral of Herceptin for early stage breast cancer to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE); urges NICE to expedite its review and to issue guidelines making Herceptin widely available on the NHS; further notes that additional funds will be needed for primary care trusts which wish to prescribe Herceptin on a case-by-case basis for women already tested and known to be H-ER 2 positive; further notes, however, that the annual treatment cost of over £20,000 has been a major barrier to prescription of Herceptin; and urges the manufacturer Roche, therefore, to take steps to reduce the cost of this life-saving drug.