Gilead Sciences receives Scottish approval for follicular lymphoma drug

Gilead Sciences has announced that its new therapy Zydelig has been approved for follicular lymphoma by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC).

The regulator has ratified the first-in-class oral agent as a monotherapy option for adult patients with follicular lymphoma refractory to two prior lines of treatment.

This decision was supported by data from a single-arm phase II study showing that the idelalisib-based therapy achieved an overall response rate of 54 percent among patients in this demographic.

It comes after Zydelig was previously given the go-ahead by the SMC in combination with rituximab for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in March 2015.

Tony Gavin, chief executive at charity group Leukaemia Care, said: "This decision by the SMC is great news for people living with follicular lymphoma in Scotland, and we are thrilled that patients who previously had limited treatment options now have access to idelalisib."

Zydelig received European Commission approval for the treatment of both chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and follicular lymphoma last year.