UK’s NICE recommends Sucampo’s Amitiza for CIC

18 June 2014

The UK health care watchdog the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has released a Final Appraisal Determination recommending National Health Service use of US drugmaker Sucampo Pharmaceuticals’ (Nasdaq: SCMP) Amitiza (lubiprostone) in the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) and associated symptoms in adults who have failed laxatives.

CIC is a debilitating condition that affects millions worldwide with an estimated 300,000 patients under the care of a general practitioner in the UK and around 84,000 who have failed two previous laxatives. Of these, one-third are men for whom there are currently few products broadly reimbursed in the UK.

"With more than eight million prescriptions dispensed globally over the past eight years, Amitiza has demonstrated to be an effective treatment option with a well-tolerated safety profile, and we believe in the value Amitiza offers to CIC patients in the UK who are unresponsive to the treatments that are currently available," stated Peter Greenleaf, chief executive of Sucampo.

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