First immunotherapy EAMS for most common type of lung cancer brings UK patients access to life-extending medicine
![](/46/pdcnewsitem/03/89/87/BMS.jpg)
MHRA grants UK lung cancer patients access to BMS's nivolumab.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has announced that the Medicines Healthcare Products and Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has granted UK lung cancer patients access to treatment with the potentially life-extending investigational medicine nivolumab, through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS), prior to the pending marketing authorisation decision. Through EAMS, nivolumab as monotherapy is indicated for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after prior chemotherapy in adult patients whose tumours express programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1). This is the first EAMS access to an immunotherapy medicine for non-squamous patients in the UK.
“Thanks to our Early Access to Medicines Scheme, NHS patients with this devastating form of lung cancer will be amongst the first in Europe to have access to this life‐enhancing medicine,” commented Life Sciences Minister, George Freeman MP. “This scheme, launched in 2014, is making a real difference in speeding up access to innovative medicines, but we want to go further, which is why the independent Accelerated Access Review will recommend how we can get new treatments to patients even faster.”
NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer in the UK and is further divided into squamous and non-squamous types based on the cells that it originates from.
“Nivolumab is one of the biggest advances in this field in almost two decades and it is changing survival expectations in lung cancer. I am delighted that the MHRA has made nivolumab available to some non-squamous lung cancer patients expressing PD-L1 through EAMS. It is untenable however that the door remains closed for other patients, such as those with squamous NSCLC who must continue to wait for a NICE review. I hope that nivolumab can soon be made available to all patients who could potentially benefit from it,” said Professor Dean Fennell, Chair of Thoracic Medical Oncology, University of Leicester.
Nivolumab is a PD-1 (programmed death-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor that works by harnessing the ability of the immune system to fight cancer.
Johanna Mercier, General Manager, Bristol-Myers Squibb UK & Ireland said: “It is great that we are now able to make nivolumab available to some non-squamous lung cancer patients through EAMS but it is also critical that we continue to work with the reimbursement authorities to open up access for patients with squamous lung cancer. NICE will make its final recommendation for squamous patients later this month and we acknowledge that longer-term change to the medicines review process is underway, although the timing of implementation and the measures of success for this are not clear. In the UK, many patients cannot afford to wait for these reforms.”
Related News
-
News Global advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases: Rare Disease Day 2024
Rare Diseases Day is celebrated on the 29th February 2024 and represents the plight of rare disease patients to gain diagnosis and access to suitable treatment. -
News Pharmaceutical industry supports COP28 health stance in joint statement
As COP28 takes place over this week in Dubai, UAE, several bodies in the pharmaceutical and health industries have come together to announce support of key movements in sustainability in the sector, and to recognise sustainability as a health issue.&nb... -
News Biden backs Cold-War measures to shore-up medical supply chains
In a recent strategy to combat rising inflation and the cost of living crisis, President Joe Biden has invoked a Cold War-era act to increase investment in a selection of medicines and supplies. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: What does the changing US Pharma market mean for industry and patients alike?
In this week's episode of the CPHI Podcast Series Lucy Chard, Digital Editor for CPHI Online is joined by James Manser to discuss the political and market changes in the US pharma field. -
News Which 10 drugs are open to price negotiation with Medicare in the USA?
The Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services, under the Biden administration in the USA, has released a list of the 10 drugs that will be open to price negotiations as part of the new legislation under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). -
News 10 Major Drug Approvals So Far in 2023
Last year, 37 novel drugs were approved by the FDA, this was a high number for such a category, and covered many fields including oncology, demonstrating how promising further research is, and how it is only continuing to build. To date, there are alre... -
News Novartis agrees for copies to be made of cancer drug to reach poorer countries
Novartis signs agreement with MPP to have generics of it's leukemia drug made so that it can be more easily distributed to the world's poorer countries. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: outsourcing and manufacturing trends
Listen to the CPHI Podcast Series this June to hear Gil Roth of the PBOA speak with Digital Editor Lucy Chard about the biggest trends and topics to watch in pharma outsourcing and manufacturing at the minute.
Position your company at the heart of the global Pharma industry with a CPHI Online membership
-
Your products and solutions visible to thousands of visitors within the largest Pharma marketplace
-
Generate high-quality, engaged leads for your business, all year round
-
Promote your business as the industry’s thought-leader by hosting your reports, brochures and videos within your profile
-
Your company’s profile boosted at all participating CPHI events
-
An easy-to-use platform with a detailed dashboard showing your leads and performance