Targeted Prostate Cancer Drug Backed by ICR Research Approved for Use in England

Targeted Prostate Cancer Drug Backed by ICR Research Approved for Use in England

(IN BRIEF) The Institute of Cancer Research has welcomed NICE’s recommendation of talazoparib in combination with enzalutamide for adults with metastatic prostate cancer, providing a new treatment option for around 2,400 patients in England who are unsuitable for chemotherapy. Backed by clinical trials led by ICR researchers, the targeted therapy offers an effective, once-daily oral alternative that avoids many chemotherapy side effects. The decision reflects decades of pioneering research at the ICR into PARP inhibitors and represents an important step forward in expanding personalised treatment options for advanced prostate cancer.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 26-Jan-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — The Institute of Cancer Research, London, has welcomed the decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to recommend the targeted therapy talazoparib, marketed as Talzenna, in combination with enzalutamide for adults with metastatic prostate cancer. The recommendation expands treatment options for patients whose disease has spread and who are unable to receive standard therapies or for whom chemotherapy is not considered suitable.

The NICE decision means that around 2,400 patients in England will now be eligible to receive the new drug combination. Delivered as a once-daily oral treatment that can be taken at home, talazoparib offers a more convenient and less burdensome alternative for patients, particularly those seeking options that avoid the side effects and clinical demands of chemotherapy.

Researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research have played a pivotal role in the development and clinical evaluation of talazoparib. Professor Johann de Bono, Regius Professor of Cancer Research at the ICR and Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, led the first-in-human study of talazoparib as well as the phase II TALAPRO-1 trial. This research demonstrated for the first time that the drug could effectively kill prostate cancer cells and inhibit tumour growth, while being tolerable for patients.

The subsequent phase III TALAPRO-2 trial evaluated talazoparib in combination with enzalutamide and produced the evidence underpinning NICE’s recommendation. Talazoparib belongs to a class of drugs known as PARP inhibitors, which work by blocking an enzyme involved in repairing damaged DNA. Cancer cells with inherited faults in DNA repair genes, such as BRCA, ATM or PALB2, are particularly vulnerable to this approach, as blocking PARP prevents them from repairing themselves and leads to cell death.

The approval also reflects more than two decades of research at the ICR into PARP inhibitors and genetically targeted cancer treatments. ICR scientists were among the first to identify PARP inhibition as a strategy for treating BRCA-mutated cancers and later helped to develop and trial talazoparib, following earlier work on olaparib. As a targeted therapy, talazoparib offers a more precise and patient-friendly approach compared with conventional chemotherapy, marking another advance in personalised cancer care for men with advanced prostate cancer.

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SOURCE: The Institute of Cancer Research