Nationwide rollout for Herceptin possible

Herceptin, the drug at the centre of a landmark court of appeal decision, could be available nationwide by autumn, according to health secretary Patricia Hewitt.

Yesterday a court of appeal decided that Ann Marie-Rogers, a woman originally denied the breast cancer treatment by Swindon primary care trust, could be given the drug despite the fact that it was not approved for early stage treatment of the condition.

And the health secretary told BBC Radio Four’s The World At One that NICE recommendations could see the drug widely available later in the year.

“Depending on the recommendations they make, Herceptin will be available right across the NHS to those for whom NICE recommend it and for whom their doctors wish to prescribe it,” Ms Hewitt said on the radio programme.

If NICE recommends in favour of the drug being used for early stage breast cancer treatment, the NHS should see rollout of the Genentech product nationwide in the following three months, according to Ms Hewitt.

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