Celgene receives Scottish regulatory recommendation for Abraxane

Celgene has announced that its drug Abraxane has been recommended for NHS usage by the Scottish Medicines Consortium.

The therapy has been approved in combination with gemcitabine for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, a condition that has extremely low survival rates due to the fact that the majority of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage.

In clinical trials, Abraxane has shown that it is able to increase survival for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer compared to gemcitabine alone, with this data informing the Scottish Medicines Consortium's decision.

The ruling follows the recent NHS England decision to defer their review of Abraxane, allowing the treatment to remain on the National Cancer Drugs Fund list until a final decision is made.

Wim Souverijns, vice-president and general manager at Celgene in the UK and Ireland, said: "Scottish patients will now be able to receive the treatment alongside their counterparts in England and Wales, and in many countries across the EU where the medicine is approved and available to patients."

During 2014, the company achieved a year-on-year sales increase of 18 percent, with Abraxane ranking as one of the top contributors to this growth.