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Pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline had a double injection of health today, when the World Health Organisation approved its cervical cancer vaccine Cervarix and the British medical watchdog said it would reconsider its block on breast cancer treatment Tyverb's use in the National Health Service.
The WHO's decision gives the UK's biggest pharma firm the green light to sell Cervarix to UN agencies for use in developing countries, where 80% of the 280,000 annual deaths from cervical cancer occur every year. The verdict could also boost GSK's application for Cervarix's approval in the US.
Meanwhile, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence agreed to rethink its ruling that breast cancer drug Tyverb is too expensive. In March, the board said it could not justify the cost of Glaxo's once-daily cancer pill, which is used in combination with Roche's medicine Xeloda at around £25,000 per patient per year.
But in an appeal, Glaxo agreed to pay for the first 12 weeks of Tyverb treatment to reduce the NHS's final bill, and Nice has agreed to reconsider the drug's distribution on the NHS.
