The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has just announced its first authorisation (of a post-surgery lung cancer treatment) under Project Orbis.
Project Orbis is a programme coordinated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review and approve promising cancer treatments.
It involves the regulatory authorities of:
• Australia (TGA)
• Canada (Health Canada)
• United Kingdom (MHRA)
• Singapore (HSA)
• Switzerland (Swissmedic)
• Brazil (ANVISA)
The UK joined Project Orbis on 1 January 2021 following its departure from the EU (and the European Medicines Agency with the ending of the Brexit transition period on 31 Dec 2020). While the FDA serves as the primary coordinator for application selection and review, Project Orbis Partners (POPs) may propose products for inclusion in the scheme. Each country remains fully independent on their final regulatory decision. Applications submitted to the MHRA within a Project Orbis procedure are national (Great Britain only) marketing authorisation applications and variations.
Per the MHRA press release – Osimertinib (Tagrisso), a medicine made by AstraZeneca, is a licensed treatment for patients with mid and later stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who test positive for a specific gene mutation called EGFR. EGFR mutations occur in approximately 12% of lung cancer patients. The licence has now been extended to include a new population of patients in early-stage disease. The extended licence offers a novel treatment option for these patients, after their cancer has been surgically removed, in an area of significant unmet need.
NHS England, NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) and AstraZeneca have reached an agreement to enable early access to osimertinib for early-stage lung cancer patients in England on a budget-neutral basis to the NHS while NICE undertakes its appraisal.
The MHRA press release is here. The press release sets out further detail.
Please note different Medicines supply stipulations apply in Northern Ireland from 1 Jan 2021 – here.
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