AQW 47920/22-27 Written question to the Minister of Health
To ask the Minister of Health whether mirvetuximab soravtansine will be made available for ovarian cancer patients.
Asked by Nuala McAllister MLA on 4 June 2026
- Answered
- Written
- After due date
- Tabled
- 4 June 2026
- Answer due by
- 19 June 2026
- Answered
- 3 August 202660 days after tabling
- Department
- Department of Health
- Priority question
- No
Answer
My Department has a formal link with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) under which NICE Technology Appraisals are reviewed locally for their legal and policy applicability here, and where found to be applicable, they are endorsed for implementation within Health and Social Care (HSC) organisations. This link has ensured that Northern Ireland has access to up-to-date, independent, professional, evidence-based guidance on the value of health care interventions. In practice, this means that treatments that have been recommended by NICE for routine use in the NHS in England are also available in Northern Ireland.
NICE guidance on the use of mirvetuximab soravtansine (Elahere®) for treating folate receptor-alpha (FR-alpha) positive, platinum-resistant, high-grade serous epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer in adults, was endorsed by my Department in July 2026 and is available to eligible patients in Northern Ireland on a cost-per-case basis, in line with the current NICE guidelines (TA1169), where infrastructure is in place and the service has capacity.