UK cost agency rejects Amgen's virus-based cancer drug

LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) - A first-in-class melanoma drug from Amgen (Xetra: 867900 - news) based on a tumour-killing virus has been deemed not worth using on Britain's state health service by the country's cost-effectiveness agency NICE (Milan: NICE.MI - news) .

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said on Wednesday there was not enough evidence to be able to say whether Imlygic, also known as talimogene laherparepvec or "T-Vec", was as clinically effective as other drugs for the deadly skin cancer.

The draft NICE guidance is now open for consultation.

Imlygic uses a herpes simplex virus, the type that causes cold sores, which has been modified to only infect cancer cells. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) is injected directly into tumours.

Until a few years ago, chemotherapy was the only available treatment for patients whose melanoma had spread. But recently there have been a number of new treatments, including immunotherapies from Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck (Jakarta: 28586808.JK - news) , which have been recommended by NICE. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler, editing by David Evans)