UK's NICE rejects Glaxo, Genmab leukemia drug

GlaxoSmithKline leukemia drug Arzerra, licensed from Denmark's Genmab, has been rejected by Britain's cost watchdog NICE in preliminary draft guidance.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said on Thursday it could not recommend the drug for reimbursement on the National Health Service (NHS) because evidence did not yet show how well it compared with standard treatment.

"This uncertainty, combined with the additional cost of ofatumumab (Arzerra) compared to currently available treatment, meant the committee could not recommend the drug as an efficient use of NHS resources," NICE Chief Executive Andrew Dillon said.

It marks Glaxo's third rebuff from NICE this month, following previous rejections of its cancer drug Tyverb and platelet-boosting drug Revolade.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler, editing by Will Waterman)