Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what the evidential basis is for the Scottish Medicines Consortium's decision not to approve the use of the targeted treatment (a) elacestrant and (b) capivasertib for secondary breast cancer, in light of the drug being approved for use in the NHS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The SMC | Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) appraisal is undertaken independently of Scottish Ministers. Making decisions about whether or not to recommend that people should routinely have access to new medicines is a complex task, and the independent SMC bases its decisions on the best available evidence provided to it.
Where licensed medicines, such as elacestrant and capivasertib, are not routinely available on the NHS in Scotland, doctors can use the PACS Tier Two system to request access on a case-by-case basis. The cost of the medicine is not a decision-making criterion when considering PACS Tier Two applications.