UK cost agency backs Lundbeck alcohol dependency drug

A novel drug to fight alcohol dependency has been endorsed for use on Britain’s state health service by the country’s cost-effectiveness watchdog NICE in a boost to its Danish maker Lundbeck. Recently launched in Europe, Selincro is a potentially important new product for Lundbeck, which needs new drugs to replace revenue from those going off patent. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said in draft guidance on Thursday that some 600,000 people dependent on alcohol should have access to the once-daily drug, also known as nalmefene, to help them fight addiction. Lundbeck believes Selincro has the potential to generate annual sales of 2.0-2.5 billion Danish crowns ($365-457 million) in all markets, although Chief Executive Ulf Wiinberg told Reuters in March that getting there could be a long haul.