Roche wins UK reimbursement for first-line Alecensa use

The UK’s reimbursement agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), has loosened the purse strings for Roche’s (ROG: SIX) cancer drug Alecensa (alectinib) as a first-line therapy for certain lung cancer patients.

The decision means that untreated patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), whose tumors are identified as ALK-positive, will be able to access the treatment routinely through the country’s national heathcare provider.

Consultant medical oncologist Riyaz Shah said: “ALK-positive NSCLC is a rare type of lung cancer that predominantly affects younger people, non-smokers and has a propensity to spread into the brain.”