Novartis’ Kisqali approved for breast cancer by NICE

Novartis has received a provisional recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for its drug Kisqali to be made available to breast cancer patients on the NHS.

The ribociclib therapy has been recommended for people with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or secondary breast cancer in new draft guidance from the UK regulator.

Kisqali is designed to be administered as a once-daily tablet alongside an aromatase inhibitor, a type of therapy that works by blocking the production of oestrogen and stopping the hormone's ability to stimulate breast cancers to grow.

This positive decision from NICE was secured after Novartis agreed to lower the price of the drug and provided additional evidence reinforcing its effectiveness.

Professor Carole Longson, director of the centre for health technology evaluation at NICE, said the drug has demonstrated the ability to "reduce the number of people who are exposed to the often unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy, and delay the need for its use in others".

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