NICE issue draft guidance decision not to approve Elahere for use in England
Ovarian Cancer Action are disappointed to read the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) draft guidance decision not to approve Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine) for use on the NHS in England* for women with folate receptor-alpha positive platinum resistant advanced high-grade serous epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer who have had one to three lines of systemic treatment.
What does this mean?
Although the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised Elahere for this use, NICE’s assessment determines whether the treatment will be funded by the NHS in England*. You can read more about how the drug approval process works here ➡️ https://ovarian.org.uk/ovarian-cancer/living-with-ovarian-cancer/ovarian-cancer-treatment/how-new-ovarian-cancer-treatments-become-available/
It's important to note that it’s not unusual for new drugs to be declined at this stage. This is a draft decision, and the consultation remains open. This doesn’t mean Elahere won’t ever be made available on the NHS in England, but rather that NICE requires more information before making a final decision.
To continue to gather this information, NICE is now welcoming comments from the public and organisations such as Ovarian Cancer Action. If you have any thoughts or experiences you'd like to share with us to submit to NICE, please fill out our survey.
Elahere was approved by the European Commission in November 2024 and is now funded in Germany and Austria. The FDA granted full approval in the U.S. in March 2024. In October 2025, Canada’s Drug Agency approved Elahere for funding.
Why was this decision made?
The committee decided that the available evidence does not suggest that Elahere is value for money for this specific group of people, even when taking into account the severity of the disease, and its effect on quality and length of life.
The committee highlighted that there is uncertainty about the following areas of evidence:
- how health-related quality of life differs for people having Elahere and people having chemotherapy
- how long people live after having Elahere and after having chemotherapy
- the average age of people starting treatment.
You can read the draft guidance in detail on the NICE website here ➡️ https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta11424/documents
How you can help
This is your opportunity to have your voice heard on this decision.
If you’re living with ovarian cancer - or are a family member, friend or carer of someone with the disease – your views matter.
Whatever type of treatment you or your loved one has had, please take a few minutes to complete our short survey and share what you think of this decision.
This survey is open to anyone affected by ovarian cancer, including family and friends, and will close on Monday 8th December 2025.Together, we can help make sure the voices of women affected by ovarian cancer are at the heart of this decision.
What happens next?
We’ll pull together all of your feedback and submit it to NICE as part of the consultation.
The NICE committee will meet again to review all the additional information and comments they receive. If they are satisfied that they have all the evidence they need, they will issue their final decision. The final publication is due on 12 March 2026, but this could change.
Your input could help shape the future of treatment for all women with advanced ovarian cancer.
This draft decision does not impact anyone already receiving this treatment
What is Elahere?
Elahere is the brand name for the drug mirvetuximab soravtansine. This type of drug is called an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC).
What are the benefits of Elahere?
Clinical trial results suggest that Elahere helped extend the time before the cancer spread or grew (known as progression-free survival), helped some people live longer, and that more people’s tumours responded to the drug compared to traditional chemotherapy.
For more information about how this drug works, how it’s given and side effects, see here ➡️ https://ovarian.org.uk/ovarian-cancer/living-with-ovarian-cancer/ovarian-cancer-treatment/targeted-therapies/antibody-drug-conjugates-adcs/
What do patients tell us about Elahere?
Angela was diagnosed with stage 3B high-grade serous ovarian cancer in 2021. After surgery and platinum chemotherapy, she started taking Niraparib. She was classed as platinum resistant after a recurrence, and started taking Elahere in June 2025.
“I feel so lucky to have been given the chance to access this new drug already because my oncologist applied for special funding. Elahere has taken away my fear of facing weekly chemo. Its effectiveness has overwhelmed me, it's outstripped my previous treatments and after only three sessions it’s brought my CA125 down to within the normal parameters and the CT results have been amazing. I walked out of the consulting room with the biggest smile on my face since the beginning of this horrid cancer journey.
Drug costs should not be allowed to rob a woman of extended life when battling this horrendous disease. The words “You’re treatable, not curable” will haunt me and many others until our dying day.”
Marie-Claire Platt, Ovarian Cancer Action’s Director of Research and Policy, says:
“We’re truly disappointed that Elahere hasn’t been approved at this stage. For more than twenty years, the choices available for women living with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer haven’t changed. The extra precious months that Elahere gives these women with their loved one are invaluable. We’re calling on women affected by ovarian cancer to share your experiences – your voices are powerful, and they must be heard by NICE.”
Ovarian Cancer Action was proud to be one of several organisations representing the patient voice as part of the NICE process. We shared what you told us about your experiences of diagnosis, treatment and life with ovarian cancer, and nominated a patient expert to speak directly to NICE committee members.
Elevating the voice of our community is critical to help decision-makers understand the real impact that new treatments options can have – not only for women and their families today, but for generations to come.
Ovarian Cancer Action is a community of changemakers with one purpose: to give ovarian cancer the focus it needs to increase 10-year survival rates. But there's much more to do. Please help us to continue to help more women by donating today.
