Bayer's Stivarga accepted for use by NHS Scotland

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) today announced that German pharma major Bayer’s (BAYN: DE) Stivarga (regorafenib) has been accepted for use within NHS Scotland for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) who progressed on or are intolerant to prior treatment with imatinib and sunitinib.

GIST is the most common form of sarcoma arising from the muscle wall of the gastrointestinal tract.GIST represents a life-threatening malignancy if the disease has spread to other parts of the body (metastasized) or is unable to be surgically removed with curative intent.GIST affects an estimated 10-20 patients per million per year worldwide.

Stivarga generated sales of 224 million euros ($238 million) in 2014, and is one of the five recently-launched drugs for which Bayer is forecasting blockbuster sales. Regorafenib has demonstrated a statistically-significant improvement in progression-free survival compared to placebo in patients with GIST whose disease had progressed after prior treatments.