Roche, Bristol-Myers cut cancer drug prices to win UK approval : reuters

as declared in reuters

Roche, Bristol-Myers cut cancer drug prices to win UK approval

Roche, Bristol-Myers cut cancer drug prices to win UK approval

A trader passes by a screen displaying the tickers symbols for Bristol-Myers Squibb and Intelsat, Ltd. on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange, April 25, 2013.REUTERS/Brendan McDermidLONDON Roche and Bristol-Myers Squibb on Thursday became the latest drugmakers to cut the price of cancer medicines in order to secure access to Britain's National Health Service.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) cost watchdog, which had rejected Roche's breast cancer treatment Perjeta in May, said a price discount now offered by the Swiss firm had helped win it a green light.Bristol's leukemia drug Sprycel was also recommended for routine use after the U.S. company offered a bigger discount.


in like manner theguardian

Breast cancer drug approved for NHS use after price cut

Breast cancer drug approved for NHS use after price cut

A drug that can help shrink breast cancer tumours before patients undergo surgery to remove them has been approved for use in the NHS, after the manufacturer agreed a substantial discount on the list price.Perjeta, the brand name of pertuzumab, could be helpful in the treatment of 1,400 women a year who develop a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer, but it was initially turned down by Nice, the National Institute for Healthcare Excellence, because of the high price set by the manufacturer, Roche.Nice said it was also uncertain that the drug treatment would help prevent the cancer coming back.Cancer deaths among women to rise 60% by 2030, new reports warn Read moreProf Carole Longson, director of the centre for health technology assessment at Nice, said there was only limited evidence of how well the drug worked because it had been quickly licensed on the back of promising but early trial data.


by the same token on reuters

Japan sets 50 percent price cut for Bristol Myers' Opdivo cancer drug

Japan sets 50 percent price cut for Bristol Myers' Opdivo cancer drug

Japan's health ministry has set a 50 percent cut in the price of Opdivo, a costly immune system-boosting cancer drug produced by Bristol Myers Squibb Co and marketed in the country by Ono Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Ono Pharmaceutical said.The halving of the price on Opdivo, approved in Japan for treating advanced melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer and kidney cancer, will take effect from February 1, 2017, Ono Pharmaceutical said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.Japan's government-run health system typically adjusts drug prices every two years, but Opdivo's high price tag raised costs so much that officials decided to intervene with the steep price cut, according to local media reports and confirmed by Ono.The company said the new Japanese price for a 20 mg vial of Opdivo will be 75,100 yen, and 364,925 yen for the 100 mg vial.