Singapore: Halaven (Eribulin), indicated for the treatment of advanced or metastatic breast cancer, developed by Japanese pharmaceutical company, Eisai, has been removed from UK's National Cancer Drugs Fund (NCDF) following a process of arbitrary evaluation.

"Access to the CDF has ensured that drugs like eribulin have become the standard of care for women with metastatic breast cancer in England. This evaluation now means that these women can no longer be treated with the drugs thousands before them have benefited from," commented Dr Vivek Misra, consultant-clinical oncology, The Christie, Manchester.

Eribulin is indicated for the treatment of women with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have progressed after at least one chemotherapeutic regimen for advanced disease.

Eribulin was first approved and launched in the UK in 2011 and marketing authorisation approval was extended for earlier use in advanced breast cancer from the European Commission on 3 July 2014. Eribulin is currently approved in more than 55 countries around the world including all of the European Union, Canada, United States, Russia, Switzerland, South Korea, Japan and Singapore.