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news.The UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued final guidance recommending GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) Tafinlar (dabrafenib) to treat certain NHS patients with melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
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Melanoma can be caused by abnormal changes or mutations in a cell protein called BRAF V600.
The drug is recommended for people whose melanoma has spread or cannot be completely removed by surgery and which tests positive for the BRAF V600 mutation.
NICE centre for health technology evaluation director professor Carole Longson said for a long time the treatments available for skin cancer which has spread have been very limited.
"However, in recent years a number of breakthrough treatments that potentially significantly improve the prognosis for some people with malignant melanoma have become available," Longson said.
"NICE has already recommended vemurafenib and ipilimumab and we are pleased to add dabrafenib to the list of options available for this type of skin cancer."
According to GSK, dabrafenib works just as well as vemurafenib which also targets melanoma with the BRAF V600 mutation.
The recommendation is based on GSK providing dabrafenib to the NHS with a discount on the list price.