UK cost agency backs Roche leukemia drug in change of tack

LONDON (Reuters) - Roche's new leukemia drug Gazyvaro has won the backing of Britain's healthcare cost-effectiveness agency NICE following a change of heart after an initial rejection two months ago. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said on Tuesday it had decided to recommend use of the drug on the state health service after Roche offered a discount and submitted revised cost-effectiveness analyses. Roche's new drug is priced at 26,496 pounds ($41,740) for a course of treatment. The size of the discount is not being disclosed. The Swiss drugmaker, which is the world's biggest maker of cancer drugs, has had a series of clashes with NICE over the years because the cost agency has rejected a number of its expensive medicines. Jayson Dallas, general manager of Roche UK, said he was "very pleased" by the latest NICE decision. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler, editing by William Hardy)