Olaparib Now

Olaparib is a potentially life-saving primary breast cancer treatment that could reduce the risk of cancer returning or progressing to incurable secondary breast cancer. In November 2022, it was provisionally rejected for use on the NHS in England.

But, thanks to the help of Breast Cancer Now supporters backing our Olaparib Now campaign, that provisional decision was reversed. Olaparib will now be available to eligible patients on the NHS, giving them the chance to receive the best possible treatment and crucially the hope of a future free from breast cancer.

What we achieved together

After olaparib was rejected, we started a petition urging pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, NICE and NHS England to find a solution to make olaparib available to the women who could benefit from it. Over 70,000 people added their name - creating pressure that played a crucial role in reversing the provisional decision.

Thank you

We want to say a massive thank you to everybody who signed our petition and helped us send the strongest message possible that this drug needed to be made routinely available on the NHS.

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“It’s daunting to know that your breast cancer is less common and more aggressive than other types of breast cancer, with a higher risk of returning in the years immediately following treatment. I feel incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to benefit from olaparib. Given the significant reduction in the risk of breast cancer recurring that it provides It’s vital that other eligible women with primary breast cancer are able to benefit from olaparib too.”

A patient with BRCA positive, primary triple negative breast cancer, who has been receiving olaparib via the drug company’s early access programme.

Frequently asked questions

What is Olaparib?

Who would be eligible for olaparib?

Can patients access olaparib currently?

What about Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

What is BRCA?

How was Breast Cancer Now involved in the development of PARP inhibitors?

Does Breast Cancer Now financially benefit from the use of PARP inhibitors?

Breast Cancer Now funded researchers contributed to the discovery and testing of PARP inhibitors. The charity receives a share of royalties from the Institute of Cancer Research for sales of PARP inhibitor drugs being used in a targeted way to treat cancers with changes in BRCA genes, or other similar defects which mean that cancer cells are unable to properly repair their DNA. This includes royalties from sales of olaparib by AstraZeneca and Merck. The charity re-invests the money to fund world-class research and life-changing support for everyone affected by breast cancer.

Through research, Breast Cancer Now is accelerating progress towards fewer cases, fewer deaths and a better quality of life for everyone affected by breast cancer. One way of doing this is protecting the IP that is generated by our research (for instance, by applying for a patent), and then working with others to use the IP to develop new tests or treatments. In most cases, we work with expert IP agencies who monitor our research portfolio and identify projects that have the potential to generate IP.

This means that we receive income based on the IP that we own or where we have a right to a share of any revenue. We use this income to fund more world-class research that could benefit people affected by breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Now has a history of campaigning for new, clinically-effective drugs to reach patients on the NHS, from Keeping Kadcyla, Perjeta Now to the most recent campaign, Time For Trodelvy. This work was driven by the clinical evidence of the treatment and the potential benefit it could bring eligible patients. This is the same for adjuvant olaparib. We input into every single drug appraisal for new breast cancer medicines, ensuring the patient voice is heard loud and clear. Our access to drugs work is driven by the evidence of the treatment, patient need and the benefits it can bring.

We know that a diagnosis of primary breast cancer can cause considerable anxiety to patients as well as their family and friends, including fear or the breast cancer recurring or spreading to other parts of the body where it becomes incurable. And the risk of triple negative breast cancer returning and spreading to other parts of the body in the first few years after treatment is higher than it is for other types of breast cancer. Adjuvant olaparib has been shown to improve invasive disease-free survival, distance disease-free survival and overall survival compared to placebo and it is important that this becomes standard of care on the NHS to give patients access to a potentially life-saving treatment.