July 8 (Reuters) – Drugmakers AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo are nearing an agreement with the UK’s pricing regulator for their breast cancer treatment Enhertu, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing multiple people familiar with the matter.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, or NICE, had previously denied coverage for the drug over claims that it was not cost-effective for the state-backed National Health Service.
“Discussions are ongoing with NHS England and NICE to identify a solution to support access to Enhertu for HER2-low metastatic breast cancer patients in England, Wales and Northern Ireland,” an AstraZeneca spokesperson told Reuters, without giving details on where talks stand.
Britain’s biggest listed company in April had pledged £300 million ($400.11 million) in investments as a show of its commitment to its home country. It also followed a bilateral deal aimed at gradually aligning UK drug prices to what Americans pay.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said in April that changes to Britain’s cost-effectiveness methodology gave hope that Enhertu could gain reimbursement at a price acceptable to the drugmaker, though below U.S. price levels.
Enhertu, developed by AstraZeneca and its Japanese partner, is approved in 95 countries for certain breast, gastric and lung cancers. It works by delivering chemotherapy directly to tumours identified by the HER-2 marker, while sparing healthy cells.
Daiichi, NICE and NHS did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
($1 = £0.7498)
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Leroy Leo)
