UK will fund Sobi's Xiapex to treat rare disease

Stockholm-based biotech firm Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (STO: SOBI) has received a positive recommendation from the UK’s health technology assessor for Xiapex (collagenase clostridium histolyticum).

The decision will mean that Xiapex, a treatment for the disabling hand condition Dupuytren’s disease, will be available to patients in England on the country’s National Health Service (NHS).

The recommendation by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) only applies if certain criteria apply, including evidence of moderate disease affecting up to two affected joints.