A new drug that helps slow the spread of an incurable type of breast cancer has been approved for use in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), officials announced on Friday.
The approval of capivasertib by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been hailed as a “landmark moment” by scientists.
The drug is expected to benefit over 1,000 women with the HR-positive, HER2-negative type of breast cancer. NICE confirmed that the twice-daily pill could be taken every year by patients with this condition.
Developed by the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and marketed under the name Truqap, capivasertib works by slowing or halting the progression of the cancer, potentially extending the lives of some patients.
Helen Knight, NICE’s Director of Medicines Evaluation, said: “People with advanced breast cancer would value treatments like capivasertib, which can be given when there are few options left. It may delay the need for chemotherapy, along with its associated side effects.”
This form of advanced breast cancer has particular genetic mutations and can spread within the breast tissue or to other parts of the body. Capivasertib works by blocking the action of an abnormal protein that signals cancer cells to multiply.
In clinical trials, capivasertib combined with the hormone therapy fulvestrant increased the time before the cancer worsened by approximately 4.2 months, compared with a placebo and fulvestrant combination
