BRIEF—UK reimbursement win for medac Pharma

German pharmaceutical firm medac Pharma has been given “special arrangements” status by the UK’s health technology assessor, for an innovative chemosaturation therapy.

The Chemosat technique is designed to allow high doses of melphalan chemotherapy to be used, without generating prohibitively toxic effects. The product is being developed for people with liver metastases resulting from primary ocular melanoma.

The change of status will allow clinicians to apply for funding on a case by case basis at the local level, through the National Health Service (NHS).

UK account manager Kirk Chester said: “This is a huge step forward for patients suffering from this rare cancer.”

“We have worked with leading clinicians and OcuMel UK, a dedicated patient support group for people diagnosed with ocular melanoma, to get the status of the procedure changed from research only to special arrangements,” he added.