UK breast cancer sufferer goes to court for drug
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A woman with early-stage breast cancer went to the High Court on Monday in an attempt to force her local health authority to pay for the potentially life-saving drug Herceptin.
Ann Marie Rogers, 54, was refused the drug after Swindon Primary Care Trust in Wiltshire said it would not fund the treatment, which costs around 20,000 pounds ($36,000) a year.
Her counsel Ian Wise told the court the refusal had left Rogers feeling she had been given a “death sentence” and that she felt as if she were “sitting on Death Row”.
Her challenge is the first over Herceptin treatment to reach the High Court and could set a precedent for patients seeking access to the drug and other expensive treatments not normally available on the National Health Service.
The case will resonate with governments around the world, who increasingly have to weigh up the benefits of modern medicines against their price.
Wise argued that the Trust’s refusal to fund Rogers’ treatment was “arbitrary and unlawful” and infringed her human rights.
Rogers has been receiving the drug from the Trust at the order of the court pending the outcome of her legal challenge.
Herceptin, made by Switzerland’s Roche, is one of a new generation of targeted therapies that attack only cancer cells and are tolerated much better than traditional chemotherapy.
The drug is currently only licensed for use in women with advanced breast cancer, although doctors can use their discretion to prescribe it in other cases.
Recent research has shown Herceptin can help patients with early stages of breast cancer, but many local health authorities will only fund treatment in exceptional circumstances.
Rogers’ solicitor, Yogi Amin, said her consultant had concluded she would benefit from the drug but the Trust would not pay for treatment as she was not an exceptional case.
Last year, two other early-stage breast cancer sufferers threatened to go to court over access to Herceptin, before their local health authorities backed down.
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has ordered Britain’s drugs watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, to speed up its assessment of wider use of the drug.
In October, Hewitt said that all women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer would be tested for suitability for Herceptin.
She said this could potentially save the lives of 1,000 women a year but at a significant price to the NHS—Hewitt said the drug programme would cost 100 million pounds a year.
Rogers’ case will last about two days, with judgement expected to be reserved before a written decision at a later date.
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