'Monumental U-turn' on cancer drug

Health reporter(wp):

A pioneering and life-extending drug repeatedly deemed too expensive will now be offered on the NHS in England.

It is the result of a confidential deal between the health service and the drug company Roche.

Kadcyla, the undiscounted cost of which had been £90,000 per patient, adds an average of six months of life to women with a form of terminal breast cancer.

Campaigners have praised the "monumental" U-turn, which will benefit about 1,200 women a year.

"Tough negotiation and flexibility between the NHS and Roche means both patients and taxpayers are getting a good deal," said NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens.

Cost-effectiveness test

Kadcyla, a combination of two drugs, is used to treat people with HER2-positive tumours that have spread to other parts of the body and cannot be surgically removed.

Scotland decided in April to pay for the drug, but it had been deemed too expensive by the rest of the UK.

In order for a drug to be approved by the regulatory body, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), it has to pass a cost-effectiveness test.

The full price drug worked out at £166,000 for every "quality adjusted life year" of good health.

It is not clear how much of a discount has been offered, but it is understood the cost per quality adjusted life year is down to about £50,000.

That is in line with other drugs that extend the life of terminally ill patients.

Delighted

Richard Erwin, general manager at Roche, said: "Close collaboration between Roche, NHS England and NICE has resulted in NICE recommending Kadcyla as a cost-effective treatment.

"This is a positive example of how solutions can be reached when all parties show flexibility."

The Welsh government expects to offer Kadcyla as soon as an equivalent deal is agreed with Roche. And the decision could allow the drug to be prescribed in Northern Ireland too.

Baroness Delyth Morgan, the chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said: "This is exceptionally good news... we are absolutely delighted."

She added: "Today's landmark decision bodes well for patients looking for reassurances that modern cancer treatments can get through to NHS patients more quickly and can bring transformational improvements in patient outcomes for the future."

A petition by the charity to get Kadcyla funded had amassed more than 115,000 signatures in less than a month.

Gunes Kalkan, from Breast Cancer Care, said: "This U-turn decision is monumental.

"This proves innovative treatments can be made widely available, and it is hugely frustrating this agreement did not come sooner."

Brexit: UK and EU negotiations to start on Monday

Pic:EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier (left) and UK Brexit Secretary David Davis confirmed the start of talks/REUTERS
Political reporter(wp):

Formal Brexit negotiations will begin on Monday, the UK and EU say.

The announcement by Brexit Secretary David Davis and EU negotiator Michel Barnier follows preliminary talks in Brussels between officials.

The formal negotiations were already due to start on Monday but doubt was cast by the general election result and ongoing talks between the Conservatives and the Democratic Unionists.

The UK is due to leave the EU by the end of March 2019.

Prime Minister Theresa May invoked Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which started the clock on Brexit, in March.

Mrs May had hoped the general election would increase her Commons majority before the start of talks - but it created a hung Parliament, and she is seeking the DUP's backing to win key votes.

Key subjects to be negotiated include the status of EU nationals and Britons living elsewhere in the EU, the size of any "divorce" bill and how the UK will trade with the EU once it leaves.

Since last week's general election, there have been calls for a new cross-party approach to talks, but Downing Street has said its strategy will not change.

EU leaders have been calling for talks to begin - on Tuesday Mr Barnier said: "I can't negotiate with myself."

London fire: Prime minister orders full public inquiry

Pic:Mohammed Alhajali was a civil engineering student at the University of West London
Staff reporter(wp):

Prime Minister Theresa May has ordered a full public inquiry into the fire that engulfed a west London block of flats, killing at least 17 people.

That figure is expected to rise, as fire chiefs do not expect to find any more survivors in the burnt-out Grenfell Tower in north Kensington.

The PM said people "deserve answers" as to why the fire spread so rapidly.

The first victim has been named by the Syria Solidarity Campaign as Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali, 23.

In a statement, the organisation said the civil engineering student was in a flat on the 14th floor when the fire broke out, and spent two hours on the phone to a friend in Syria.

He was trying to get through to his family while he was waiting to be rescued.

The group said: "Mohammed bid his friend goodbye, saying that the fire had reached him. He asked his friend to pass on the message to his family...

"Mohammed undertook a dangerous journey to flee war and death in Syria, only to meet it here in the UK, in his own home.

"Mohammed came to this country for safety and the UK failed to protect him."

His older brother, Omar, lost him on the way out and survived, the organisation said.

Six victims of the Grenfell Tower blaze have been provisionally identified, Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said, but "there is a risk that sadly we may not be able to identify everybody".

Earlier, Mrs May made a private visit to the scene, where she spoke to Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton and members of the emergency services.

She said: "[The emergency services] told me that the way this fire had spread and took hold of the building was rapid, it was ferocious, it was unexpected.

"So it is right that, in addition to the immediate fire report that will be produced and any potential police investigation, that we do have a full public inquiry to get to the bottom of this."

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry donate to fund for Grenfell Tower victims

Royal correspondent(wp/es):

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry today joined an extraordinary response from Londoners to the Evening Standard’s fund for victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Money has been flooding in from members of the public and London-based firms, with donations made to our website “every second”, as the capital unites to help the hundreds of residents bereaved and left homeless by the tragedy.

By this morning, the total had already soared to £700,000.

William, Kate and Harry — who were deeply moved as they watched the horror unfold barely a mile from their Kensington Palace home — were among the first to donate.