GlaxoSmithKline's Votrient now launched in UK for renal cell carcinoma; firm to expand drug access to poorest countries

6 July 2010

GlaxoSmithKline announced on Friday that Votrient (pazopanib) is now available in the UK for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and for patients who have previously received cytokine therapy for advanced disease. Advanced RCC is one of the most treatment resistant malignancies, with around nine out of 10 patients dying within five years.

Votrient received conditional approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) just last month, with the proviso that GSK would provide data from ongoing clinical studies, including a comparison with Pfizer's Sutent (sunitinib; The Pharma Letter June 17). It is also approved in the USA. The drug was launched in Germany and in Austria in June.

The drug is currently being assessed by the UK's watchdog body the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) under its Single Technology Appraisal process. NICE guidance for approval under the National Health Service is expected later this year

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