JNJ - England Officially Rejects AstraZeneca's Lung Cancer Drug
One of England's top healthcare watchdogs, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), has officially decided to stay the course and reject AstraZeneca's (NYSE: AZN) lung cancer drug Tagrisso.
A few months ago, the pharmaceutical giant argued that the drug should receive approval as the first line of defense for patients with EGFR-positive non-small cell lung cancer -- about 10% of all lung cancer patients. Clinical data has shown that Tagrisso can delay cancer growth for almost 19 months, in comparison to the 10 months that a pair of rival drugs were able to demonstrate. However, NICE found the drug to be too expensive relative to its effectiveness, costing 5,770 pounds ($7570) for a 30-day supply.
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