Novartis has announced the launch of its new breast cancer drug Afinitor in the UK, offering a new therapy option for sufferers.

The everolimus-based treatment was approved by the European Commission in combination with exemestane against hormone receptor-positive, HER2/neu-negative advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women without symptomatic visceral disease after recurrence or progression following a non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor.

Afinitor is the first mTOR inhibitor therapy to be approved for use against this condition, which is the most common form of advanced breast cancer.

This launch is potentially important due to the fact that patients eventually develop a resistance to current treatment options.

Stephen Johnston, professor of breast cancer medicine at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said: "For the first time, clinical research has identified a therapeutic agent, everolimus, which in combination with exemestane can seemingly circumvent this treatment resistance and substantially reduce the risk of patients' cancers worsening."

This comes after the firm also recently received European regulatory approval for Jakavi, a new therapy for the blood cancer myelofibrosis.