Saqib called on the Minister for Health to urgently look into making the cancer drug Enhertu available on the NHS for patients with the HER2 mutation. Saqib’s constituent Elaine Lynch is suffering from stage 4 Metastatic Lung Cancer and is currently privately funding her use of the drug, which costs up to £9,040 every three weeks. To attempt to cover this cost Elaine’s children have started a GoFundMe campaign, which has raised over £19,000 since its inception. Without the drug, Elaine’s life expectancy will be severely affected, and she will deteriorate rapidly.
Saqib’s call for Enhertu to be made available to Elaine Lynch follows his presentation of a petition on her behalf calling for NICE (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) to authorise the use of the drug Enhertu for NHS cancer treatment among patients with the HER2 mutation. The petition collected over 200,00 signatures and Saqib highlighted that making this drug available is clearly in the public’s interest.
The Minister for Health, Will Quince, emphasised his sympathy for Elaine and others in her position and agreed to meet with Saqib to see what could be done to make this drug available on the NHS. The minister also noted that NICE is an independent body with a strict and robust process for repurposing drugs and clinical trials which must be adhered to.
Commenting on the events, Saqib said:
“I am grateful that the Minister for Health has agreed to meet with me to discuss ways to allow Elaine access to the lifesaving drug Enhertu. Making sure that my constituent’s healthcare needs are met is one of my main priorities and I will continue to champion Elaine’s cause.”
