BRIEF—Reimbursement win for Scemblix in England and Wales

Novartis has received a positive reimbursement decision for its chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) therapy Scemblix (asciminib), in the third-line setting.

The final draft recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will unlock funding for the treatment’s routine use in England and Wales, for certain adults with Philadelphia chromosome-positive CML.

The first treatment of its kind to be recommended by the NICE, Scemblix will provide a new option for patients who develop intolerance or resistance to current treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).

Dragana Milojkovic, professor of chronic myeloid malignancies at Imperial College, London, said: “A significant number of patients on second-line TKI treatment fail to achieve a satisfactory response after two years and are at risk of disease progression.”

She added: “Where the next treatment option has previously been another conventional TKI, today's decision means that clinicians can now consider a novel TKI with an alternative mechanism of action, that may support outcomes for eligible CML patients."