GlaxoSmithKline’s Tyverb receives Welsh recommendation

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) has granted a positive recommendation to its breast cancer drug Tyverb.

Following this decision, NHS oncologists in Wales will be able to prescribe the lapatinib-based therapy alongside capecitabine for a specific group of patients who suffer from relapsed HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Approximately 25 to 30 percent of women with metastatic breast cancer are affected by this form of the disease, which is generally associated with worse prognoses and reduced overall survival rates.

GlaxoSmithKline's targeted tablet therapy has been shown in studies to deliver improvements in progression-free survival rates compared to capecitabine – a commonly used chemotherapy regimen – alone.

Erik Van Snippenberg, general manager at GlaxoSmithKline, said: "We are pleased that AWMSG has recognised the value of lapatinib and hope that its availability will help to make a meaningful difference to these women living with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer."

This comes after Tyverb was approved by the European Commission for use in combination with trastuzumab earlier this month.