UK's NICE Wins Drug Price War With GSK

Although approved last September in the European Union, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence had refused to cover the drug at the company-dictated price, which resulted in patients paying out-of-pocket.

A skin cancer drug developed by GlaxoSmithKline will be available through the United Kingdom's National Health Service after the company agreed to a secret discount.

Tafinlar, which fights melanoma, has won the green light from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), provided GSK supplies it at an undisclosed discount to the £1,400-per-week list price.

The drug has been approved for use in the European Union since September 2013, but once it has received final NICE approval, patients will not need to pay out of pocket to use it.

NICE said it had fast-tracked its recommendation for Tafinlar to the final draft stage in order to accelerate access to the treatment.

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Source: The Telegraph