Teva Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) has asked the Ministry of Health to include Iressa (gefitinib), a biological drug for treating lung cancer, to the National List of Reimbursed Drugs, the list of drugs for which the Ministry reimburses the health funds. Teva owns exclusive marketing rights in Israel for the drug, which is manufactured by AstraZeneca (NYSE, LSE, XETRA, SAX: AZN).
Teva is asking that the drug be added to the list for patients who have passed through the initial stage of chemotherapy, but still require treatment. Teva said the drug was preferable to further chemotherapy, since it improved patients’ clinical condition and their quality of life.
Iressa is taken orally, and is free of side effects caused by chemotherapy, such as nausea, vomiting, and loss of hair.
Teva began supplying the drug three years ago, under a special program called compassionate use, after patients demanded the drug. Teva allowed hospitals to supply the drug free of charge to 500 patients for whom it was suitable.
Now that the Ministry of Health has approved Iressa for use, Teva has shut down the compassionate use program for new patients, meaning that the patients will have to pay up to $2,000 per month for the drug.
Teva marketing oncology unit manager Nehama Finestone told “Globes”, “We will continue supplying Iressa for free to all the patients who have already begun treatment using the drug, but now that the Ministry of Health has approved it, new patients will have to pay for it.”
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on April 21, 2004