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UK regulator approves Takeda's blood cancer drug use while awaiting more data

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.'s Ninlaro has been recommended for inclusion under the Cancer Drugs Fund by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, or NICE, allowing the treatment to be used in blood cancer patients while more data is collected to assess its value.

The Japanese company struck a deal with the National Health Service England after the regulator said the oral pill should be available to patients as more evidence is gathered on its value.

Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer that affects the plasma cells in the bone marrow, causing them to multiply uncontrollably and produce an abnormal type of protein. This leads to bone damage and disrupts production of healthy blood cells, according to the NICE news release.

NICE had earlier rejected Ninlaro, or ixazomib, for multiple myeloma patients who had received one or more therapies previously, citing lack of data on whether it helped people live longer compared with the standard of care treatment they received.

The medicine was also not cost-effective, the regulator had noted then.

"We do not yet know the full extent of ixazomib's benefits to patients, but the early results look promising," said Mirella Marlow, acting director of the centre for health technology evaluation.

NICE said data on Ninlaro's effectiveness is expected to be collected until December 2019, and after that the drug will be reassessed regarding its routine use by NHS.