GlaxoSmithKline asthma drug receives NICE approval for NHS

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has drawn out guidelines recommending the use of pharma company GlaxoSmtihKline’s (GSK) biologic drug for asthma patients on the NHS in England and Wales.

The drug, mepolizumab was previously rejected due to concerns about its cost effectiveness.

However, the drug has since received a reduction in price and GSK has detailed additional guidelines for its use.

The drug is being recommended as an additional treatment for people with a particularly aggressive form of asthma. It is recommended for eosinophilic asthma if the patient has had four or more attacks within a year as well as if the patient is taking maintenance oral corticosteroids.

Mepolizumab targets white blood cells which cause inflammation and breathing difficulties in people suffering with asthma. This type of severe asthma currently affects around 100,000 people in the UK. This new drug is the first of its kind to be granted access through the NHS by NICE.

The drug’s list price is £840 per dose but the price that the NHS will pay remains confidential.

The high price of drugs and vaccinations has been a rising concern. Earlier this year Senator Bernie Sanders said “the era of charging unconscionable prices must end” in regards to pharma corporation Pfizer and the entire pharmaceutical sector.

Recently non-profit organisation Doctors Without Borders rejected Pfizer’s offer to donate a significant number of pneumonia vaccines to aid the children they serve. They rejection was due to the terms and conditions that often come with such “generous” offerings, rules which can negatively affect vaccination processes. Donations can often be used as excuses for the reason why vaccination prices remain so high and donators can place restrictions on which patient populations and geographic regions receive vaccinations.