AstraZeneca’s new lung cancer therapy accepted for EAMS inclusion

AstraZeneca has announced that its new lung cancer therapy osimertinib has been accepted for inclusion in the UK Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS).

NHS doctors will be able to prescribe osimertinib to qualifying patients, with the drug to be made available free of charge by AstraZeneca. It means UK patients will be among the first in Europe to have free access to the therapy.

It is designed for patients with locally advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor T790M mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer, with early-phase clinical trial data demonstrating its potential benefits.

The EAMS was established by the government to give patients early access to therapies that address an unmet medical need before they have been officially approved.

Lisa Anson, president of AstraZeneca in the UK and Ireland, said: "We hope that the EAMS decision will result in a rapid assessment by the UK reimbursement bodies to ensure that patients can have long-term access via the NHS."

The drug was approved in the US last month, where it will be commercialised under the brand name Tagrisso.