Hundreds of women with incurable breast cancer have been given “hope of more precious time” after treatment costing £77,000 per year was approved for use on the  NHS. The twice-daily pill, capivasertib, is used in combination with the hormone therapy fulvestrant. Around 1,100 patients in England with a certain type of breast cancer are expected to be eligible.

Claire Rowney, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said: “We’re delighted that NICE has recommended capivasertib with fulvestrant for use on the NHS in England, offering certain people with incurable secondary breast cancer the hope of more precious time to do what matters most to them before the disease progresses.  

“This promising new treatment is targeted at cancers with certain gene alterations that affect up to half of people with hormone receptor positive incurable secondary breast cancer.”

The drug will be offered to patients with hormone receptor-positive HER2-negative breast cancer that has certain genetic mutations and has spread.  

The combined treatment has a list price of £77,000 per year but capivasertib’s manufacturer AstraZeneca has agreed a confidential discount with the NHS.

Professor Nicholas Turner, from the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, led a major trial into the drug.

He said the recommendation meant that “thousands of NHS patients with advanced breast cancer with these specific biomarkers can now receive this innovative targeted treatment to keep their cancer from progressing for longer."

He added: “It’s an immensely rewarding moment to see this drug provide patients with a treatment option and precious extra time with their families.”

Professor Paul Workman, former chief executive of the ICR and researcher in the AKT drug discovery project, described the news as a “landmark moment” and “immensely gratifying”.

The treatment is being rolled out through the Cancer Drugs Fund, which provides interim funding for newly recommended treatments to accelerate access.

The recommendation reverses a previous decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to provisionally reject the drug in January.

Ms Rowney added: “It’s fantastic news that capivasertib will be made available on the NHS for patients in England, but we shouldn’t overlook the fact that its initial provisional rejection meant patients have faced unnecessary delays in accessing it.

“This happens too often and urgent action must be taken to ensure the quick approval of breast cancer drugs so they can be made available promptly to those who need them.  

“NHS England must now put in place prompt genetic testing to ensure those eligible receive capivasertib without further delay.

“The Scottish Medicines Consortium must also consider this treatment at pace now, so that we see it made available to all who need it across the UK.”

Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at NICE, said the treatment would help patients for whom limited options exist and could delay the need for chemotherapy, which comes with side effects.

She added: “We are therefore pleased the company has worked with us so that we are able to recommend this promising new treatment as a good use of NHS resources and value for money for taxpayers.”