Roche Holding AG (ROG) won the backing of the U.K. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for the RoActemra rheumatoid arthritis drug after agreeing to provide a discount to the state-run medical system.

RoActemra may be used at additional stages of treating the disease under new draft treatment guidelines, according to an e- mailed statement from the agency, known as NICE. Roche, based in Basel, Switzerland, must provide a discount on the medicine, which costs 9,295 pounds ($14,225) a year for a patient weighing about 70 kilograms (154 pounds). The level of the discount will remain confidential, NICE said.

The agency last year recommended RoActemra as an option for rheumatoid arthritis patients who either hadn’t had an adequate response to one or more medicines or couldn’t take Roche’s Rituxan. NICE advises the National Health Service on which therapies represent value for money.
source:Roche Holding AG