AstraZeneca sales and marketing update

The U.K.’s NICE issued a final appraisal determination (FAD) recommending that Tagrisso osimertinib from AstraZeneca be covered by the Cancer Drugs Fund for locally advanced or metastatic T790M EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has progressed. The European Commission granted conditional approval to Tagrisso for the indication in February.

In draft guidance released in June, NICE recommended against Tagrisso because its long-term benefits were “unclear” and the drug could not be considered cost-effective. In its new guidance, NICE said that “updated evidence from ongoing studies” was “not strong enough to say for certain that osimertinib could be considered value for money for routine use” on the NHS. ...