AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's breast-cancer drug Enhertu won approval from the drug-cost watchdog for routine use in England, after the regulator changed its recommendation following the U.S.-U.K. pharmaceutical-pricing deal.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said Thursday that it would recommend Enhertu for routine use on England's National Health Service, which means around 1,000 patients annually with an advanced form of breast cancer can now be offered the treatment.

An independent NICE committee had previously rejected the drug at the price proposed by the companies. The parties reached an agreement after the regulator's methods changed due to the U.S.-U.K. pharma deal, NICE said.

AstraZeneca's U.K. president Tom Keith-Roach said the green light in England brings access to the medicine into line with Scotland and 26 other European countries.

NICE said it had made 25 other breast-cancer treatments available on the NHS since 2018, but that Enhertu for this group of patients was the only one it had been unable to recommend.