Astra’s Tagrisso Gets U.K. Backing After Price Agreement
- 300 lung cancer patients in England, Wales will be eligible
- NICE issued draft recommendation against Merck’s Keytruda
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AstraZeneca Plc, the U.K.’s second-largest drugmaker, won the endorsement of the country’s health-cost regulator for use of its Tagrisso medicine, while a competing lung-cancer drug from Merck & Co. was rejected as not being cost-effective.
Tagrisso will be paid for through the 340 million-pound ($435 million) Cancer Drugs Fund, which covers the latest therapies while information is collected on how well they work in practice. It’s the first new cancer treatment to be introduced into the state-run National Health Service through such an agreement, according to a statement from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Tuesday.