Ipsen's Ewan McDowall praises UK's stance on cancer drug

At a time when the inability of UK patients to access certain potentially lifesaving cancer drugs has come under fire, one company executive has praised the stance taken by the British government on a treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Cabometyx (cabozantinib), from the French drugmaker Ipsen (Euronext: IPN), was one of the fastest drugs to be granted a promising innovative medicine (PIM) designation by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulators Agency (MHRA).

This scheme gives patients with life threatening or seriously debilitating conditions access to medicines that do not yet have a marketing authorization when there is a clear unmet medical need.