Roche’s Perjeta receives authorisation for sale in UK

Roche has announced that its innovative new personalised breast cancer treatment Perjeta is to go on sale in the UK after recently receiving European regulatory approval.

The European Medicines Agency has ratified the drug for use among patients with previously untreated advanced HER2-positive breast cancer in combination with Herceptin and chemotherapy, the current gold standard of care.

Data from the phase III trial Cleopatra has shown that Perjeta can offer progression-free survival benefits compared to Herceptin and chemotherapy alone.

An accompanying diagnostic HER2 test is used to determine if a patient has HER2-positive breast cancer and could therefore benefit from this tailored therapy option.

Roche will now work with the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence and the Scottish Medicines Consortium to ensure patients can access the drug via the NHS.

David Miles, consultant oncologist at London's Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, said: "This licence authorisation has been much anticipated and will be welcome news for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer in the UK."