LAUSR

The new breast cancer drugs palbociclib (Ibrance, Pfizer) and ribociclib (Kisqali, Novartis) should be routinely funded on the NHS, draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended. The guidance,1 published on 16 November, said that price discounts agreed with manufacturers for both of the drugs had made them cost effective options for people with hormone receptor (HR) positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negative locally advanced or secondary breast cancer. This is despite uncertainty about how long the drugs extend overall survival for. NICE’s initial draft guidance on palbociclib, published in February, did not recommend the drug because its cost was too high in relation to its clinical …