Roche's subcutaneous Herceptin injection approved for use in UK

From today HER2-positive breast cancer patients in the UK could benefit from a faster, more efficient delivery method of Herceptin (trastuzumab).

The subcutaneous injection, given just beneath the skin, can be completed in 2-5 minutes, compared to the traditional, relatively time-consuming 30-90 minute intravenous (IV) infusion. This speedier form of delivery of Herceptin is now authorized for use in the UK after a license was granted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). In addition, NHS England has agreed to fund its use on the National Health Service (NHS).

Drug developers Swiss drug major Roche (ROG: SIX) said that patients could now gain up to more than an hour from each visit to the hospital for their anti-cancer therapy and 19 hours over the course of their treatment. This is valuable time and has the potential to liberate patients, enabling them to get on living their lives without the feeling of being shackled to an intravenous infusion. It also means that the relatively invasive central line or cannula would no longer need to be inserted into the patient every three weeks as is the current standard practice. Furthermore, a study has shown that nine out of 10 patients preferred a subcutaneous version of Herceptin versus IV.