The Norwegian Medicines Agency wants expensive cancer medicine

Nurses on the job at Oslo University Hospital, the Norwegian Radium hospital in Oslo, Norway.Photo: Tore Meek / NTB scanpix

The Norwegian Medicines Agency is ready to launch a new immune preparation against lung cancer that can extend the life of some 700 patients annually.

– We have never had any complaints about the effect of the medicine , but the price which the  pharmaceutical companies charged for the medicine have been too high  until now .

Now we have a more acceptable price,  Kristin Helen Svanqvist, head of  drug reimbursement in the Norwegian Medicines Agency, says to TV 2 news. The price is now at about 1 million for each extra year of life for a patient.

According to Bergens Tidende the medicine in question is the medicine Pembrolizumab, also called Keytruda, which heretofore have been approved for use against melanoma.

The so-called Decision Forum will make the decision next week. The Forum consists of the heads of the four health regions, and is charged to ensure that Norwegian patients receive equal treatment across regions.

Around 3,000 people get lung cancer in Norway annually and it is the disease that takes the largest number of lives each year. But it is also the easiest cancer to prevent, according to the Cancer Registry.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today