The NHS has secured a deal for 'Pembrolizumab' to treat women with triple-negative breast cancer.
Up to 1,600 women a year affected by high risk triple-negative breast cancer are set to benefit from the confidential deal struck by the NHS and the Merck Sharp
and Dohme's (MSD), manufacturer of Pembrolizumab.
Triple-negative breast cancer affects around 8,000 women a year - accounting for 15% of all breast cancer cases.
This will be the 25th breast cancer treatment fast-tracked to patients through funding from the Cancer Drugs Fund and the second treatment for triple negative breast
cancer to be introduced this year on the NHS.
NHS chief executive, Amanda Pritchard, said: "This is a hugely significant moment for women - the NHS has struck a new deal to roll out a potentially life-saving
drug for patients suffering with the most aggressive form of breast cancer that has been traditionally very difficult to treat.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended abemaciclib also called Verzenios, made by Eli Lilly, for people with hormone
receptor-positive, HER2-negative, node-positive early breast cancer at high risk of recurrence who have had surgery to remove their tumour.
The clinical trial result showed that people having abemaciclib with hormone therapy had a more than 30 per cent better chance of their cancer not coming back
following surgery compared with people having hormone therapy alone.
Helen Knight, interim director of medicines evaluation at NICE, said: "Today's positive draft recommendation, which comes less than a month after abemaciclib
received its licence, is fantastic news. The fact that we have been able to produce draft recommendations so quickly is testament to the success of our ambition
to support patient access to clinically and cost effective treatments as early as possible.
"Until now there have been no targeted treatments for people with this type of breast cancer. Abemaciclib with hormone therapy represents a significant improvement
in how it is treated because being able to have a targeted treatment earlier after surgery will increase the chance of curing the disease and reduce the likelihood
of developing incurable advanced disease."