A life-extending prostate cancer drug is to be made available to thousands of men in England in a matter of weeks, after a campaign by a patient and a charity.

Abiraterone has been provided on the NHS in Scotland and Wales since 2023 but not in England and Northern Ireland, except in the most severe cases.

The drug is already prescribed for patients in the UK with very advanced prostate cancer that has spread.

But from now on the drug will be available on the NHS in England to high-risk patients whose cancer has not yet metastasised – potentially saving hundreds of lives.

Amy Rylance, assistant director of health improvement at charity Prostate Cancer UK, said the decision was “a momentous, life-saving victory for the thousands of men whose lives will now be saved”.

She praised the BBC for keeping “a spotlight on this issue” through its coverage over the past few years.

The charity estimates 7,000 men a year will now start the treatment, with some 1,470 avoiding later news that their cancer has got worse.

The charity suggests some 560 lives will be saved.

The drug will be available in weeks, NHS England says, with around 2,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the last three months getting access to the treatment if it is of clinical benefit.

Abiraterone stops cancer spreading by starving the disease of the hormones it needs to grow.

Giles Turner, from Brighton, was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer in March 2023.

He approached BBC News later that year after hearing that abiraterone was provided by the NHS in Scotland and Wales but not in England.

“I was shocked and angered that my postcode meant I was denied free access to a treatment that could halve my risk of dying and give me the best chance of a cure,” he told the BBC.

He chose to pay for treatment with the drug, costing him £250 a month.

He told us then that he felt “very fortunate” to be able to afford it, but outraged for others who could not.

Mr Turner began his campaign for a change of policy.

At the time, NHS England said it was reviewing the drug’s use for a wider range of men.

But the following year officials told Prostate Cancer UK that there was no funding available. This was repeated by ministers in early 2025.

“Today’s wonderful news is the culmination of all our determined and dogged efforts” said Mr Turner.

“I’m beyond happy that men like me now have fair access to the most effective treatment, that so many lives will now be saved, and that so many families will be spared heartbreak.”

But he added that he was frustrated that nearly three years had passed since he raised the issue.

Prostate Cancer UK’s argument that many lives could be extended by the drug was based on the findings of a trial called STAMPEDE, published in 2022.

It found improved odds of survival among men given the drug alongside usual care.

The Institute of Cancer Research said two years of abiraterone halved the risk of prostate cancer coming back and reduced the risk of death by 40%.

Researchers had been frustrated that the health watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) had not approved the use of the drug for newly diagnosed patients.

But for NICE and the medical regulator the MHRA to consider extending a drug’s usage they need detailed and time-consuming applications.

In October 2022, abiraterone had gone “off patent” – which means the legal protection granted to the original brand making it (granting them exclusive rights to manufacture and sell it) had expired.

Once it became a generic medicine – with other companies now having the right to buy and sell it – there was limited incentive for companies to seek approval for it to be prescribed for a wider group of patients.

Ministers and health authorities in Scotland and Wales found a way within existing protocols to start supplying the drug to the NHS.

But there was no such shift in England.

NHS England said because money had been saved on other medicines it was now possible to fund the extension of the drug’s availability.

National clinical director for cancer at NHS England, Prof Peter Johnson, said: “The life-extending treatment available on the NHS within weeks will mean thousands of men can kick-start their year with the news that they will have a better chance of living longer and healthier lives.

“The NHS will continue to work hard to offer people the most effective and evidence-based treatments, with several new prostate cancer drugs rolled over the last five years.”

Health and social care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “When you’re living with prostate cancer, every day with your loved ones matters.

“I’m delighted the NHS have taken the steps needed to make the drug available, giving thousands of men access to abiraterone – a treatment that significantly improves survival rates and can give patients precious extra years of life.”

Responding to the news, STAMPEDE trial co-lead Prof Gert Attard, at the UCL Cancer Institute, said: “This is a hugely welcome moment for patients. Our research showed clearly that abiraterone can save lives when offered earlier to men at high risk of their cancer spreading.

“Funding for this disease indication is already available in Scotland and Wales, so we are delighted that NHS England has acted on this evidence and will now make this highly effective treatment routinely available.”

Prostate Cancer UK is engaging with the decision-makers in Northern Ireland to try to ensure that they rapidly follow suit.

The charity said it was writing to politicians in Northern Ireland to press the government in Stormont.

Stormont has yet to comment on any plans to change how abiraterone is prescribed.

The first leukaemia patient to receive a breakthrough treatment since it was made available on the NHS has said it was “fantastic” and “very sci-fi”.

Oscar Murphy, 28, who has an aggressive form of the blood cancer, was given the “living drug”, called CAR-T therapy, at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

BBC News was present on 2 January when Oscar received the first of two infusions of his own immune cells, which had been genetically modified to recognise and target his cancer.

NHS England has agreed to fund the immunotherapy at several centres across the country. About 50 NHS patients a year are likely to benefit from it.

Oscar was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-cell ALL) in March 2025.

He underwent chemotherapy and a donor stem cell transplant in July but in November was told that his cancer had returned.

“The leukaemia I’ve got is so fast-acting,” the car salesman from Bury said. “It needs an even quicker response to stop it. And we’ve now got an answer for that.”

In a clinical trial, 77% of patients went into remission after treatment, with half showing no signs of cancer after three and a half years.

On average, the treatment gave patients 15.6 additional months of life.

Oscar’s haematologist, Dr Eleni Tholouli, said the CAR-T therapy was safer than existing treatments, with fewer side-effects and much more effective.

“Usually, this type of leukaemia is very aggressive and adult patients don’t live beyond six to eight months. With this therapy, we are able to offer them years and potentially a cure.

“It’s very significant and is revolutionising the way we tackle this cancer.”

CAR-T therapy has been available on the NHS for several years for certain types of leukaemia and lymphoma but has only now been extended to adults with B-cell ALL.

Last month, Oscar had T-cells – a type of white blood cell – removed and sent to a lab in Stevenage.

The cells were then reprogrammed using a harmless virus to introduce a genetic sequence that enables them to identify the cancer.

New surface receptors can then recognise and are able to attach to cancer cells – like a lock and key – and mark them for destruction.

They become “chimeric antigen receptor T-cells” – or CAR T-cells – and their numbers are greatly expanded in the lab to make millions of copies.

Oscar’s personalised treatment, or living drug, was cryopreserved and sent to Manchester Royal Infirmary.

The tiny bag containing Oscar’s personalised treatment held 100 million CAR T-cells in just three teaspoons of liquid, and it took only a few minutes to infuse into his bloodstream.

Oscar said he was surprised the treatment could pack such a powerful punch in such a small dose.

“It’s very sci-fi, but if it means it gets rid of the cancer permanently and my own cells can do it it’s just fantastic.”

Oscar had a second infusion of 300 million cells yesterday, marking the end of his CAR-T treatment.

As this is a “living drug”, the cancer-killing T-cells stay in the body for a long time and will continue to grow and work inside the patient after the final infusion.

The CAR-T therapy is manufactured by Autolus, a spin-out company from University College London.

During clinical trials, the patient’s cells had to be sent to laboratories in the US.

The list price of the treatment is £372,000 per infusion, but the NHS has a confidential discount.

It will be available to patients over the age of 26 whose B-cell ALL has not responded to treatment or has returned at several centres in England, including Cambridge, Newcastle, Sheffield, Plymouth and London.

Patients from Wales and Northern Ireland will need to travel to England for treatment. It has not yet been approved in Scotland.

NHS England estimates that around 50 patients a year may benefit, but Tholouli told the BBC she believed it could be more, and predicted it would eventually be used as a first-line treatment instead of stem cell transplantation.

Prof Peter Johnson, NHS National Clinical Director for Cancer, said it was a “landmark moment” for people with aggressive blood cancer.

He added it was “remarkable” the treatment now delivered at NHS centres had been developed from scientific research within the UK.

“It will help more people like Oscar live longer and healthier lives.”

Chris Williams, 29, from Belfast was diagnosed with the same aggressive type of leukaemia as Oscar in 2021.

When the cancer returned, he was given the CAR-T therapy in Manchester when it was still an experimental treatment. He has now been in remission for nearly three years.

“A few years ago I was very unwell and now I’m able to live a full life. I was able to go back to work. I also met Chloe and now we’re engaged.

“I have fantastic support from my family and they are over the moon.”

Oscar and his fiance Lauren were married at Manchester Royal Infirmary last month.

He told the BBC he wanted to “get it done” because of the uncertainties surrounding his condition, but the couple have another ceremony booked for October.

“I want children and the white picket fence with my amazing wife – I just want that normality. This is my gateway to doing it and I can’t wait.”

A five-year-old boy who received the world’s most expensive drug as a baby has made “incredible progress” and can walk independently, his mother said.

Edward, from Colchester, has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) which means he lacks a protein vital for muscle development.

He was one of the first children in England to be given the gene therapy Zolgensma, which costs £1.79m for the one-off treatment, through the NHS in 2021.

Mother Megan said Edward was her “pride and joy” and he had achieved milestones she never thought possible.

About 65 babies are born with SMA in England each year. It causes muscle weakness and affects movement and breathing, meaning most babies do not live past the age of two without intervention.

Megan said Edward had gone from being lethargic as a baby to a cheeky, playful boy, who was “full of life” and “a real character”.

He might need to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but she added: “It does not matter, as long as he is happy. We are so proud of him.”

“Edward had to have a double hip replacement in October and he’s only just getting back on his feet, but in general he is doing so well.

“He is learning to swim, he can float on his own, which is really hard for children with SMA because they don’t have natural buoyancy.

“This summer, he jumped off a boat into the sea and he went on a jet ski. He’s a very sweet, loveable little guy.”

Edward has just started school, where he has made lots of friends, and “does everything an ordinary five-year-old boy does”.

“We just didn’t think that was possible. We didn’t know what quality of life he would have,” she said.

Various doctors and medical professionals visited him whenever he was in hospital, even when they were not treating him, because they were amazed by his progress, she added.

“They want to see first-hand what gene therapy has done for him.”

The family moved to London so Edward can have physiotherapy up to five times a week.

Ms Willis gave up her job in event management to care full-time for Edward.

It was not certain he would receive the drug on the NHS, so she started a fundraising campaign, and has used the money to pay for specialist physio and equipment, to which she credits his progress.

“We raised £170,000 over five years but that money has nearly gone. It’s been put to a lot of good use,” she said.

“It has saved us as a family, not having to worry about the money. We’re fundraising again now because all of the progress he has made has been due to private care.”

Zolgensma is thought to be the most expensive drug in the world, though NHS England said it had negotiated an undisclosed discount on its £1.79m list price.

Edward, who was diagnosed at two months old, was receiving another drug called Spinraza, which involves regular spinal regular injections for life, compared to a one-off injection of Zolgensma.

Because it is such a new drug, long-term outcomes are not known, but Megan said she believed this generation of babies with SMA would be the first to reach adulthood.

Prof James Palmer, medical director for specialised commissioning at NHS England, said: “It is a huge pleasure to see the remarkable benefits that this innovative gene therapy has provided for Edward since he was treated four years ago.

“Edward is one of more than 150 children with SMA to benefit from this one-shot treatment which has had a huge impact on their lives, and I’m optimistic that many more conditions like SMA will also become treatable over the coming years as medical advances continue at pace.”