Eisai Company, Ltd.'s Halaven Breast-Cancer Drug Rejected by National Institute of Clinical Research

Eisai Co. (4523)’s Halaven medicine failed to win the backing of the U.K.’s health-cost agency in final guidance on the treatment of advanced breast cancer, even after the Japanese drugmaker offered to reduce the price. While Halaven may help some patients live a little longer, the drug also caused more side effects than treatments already available on the National Health Service, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence said today in an e-mailed statement. The agency, known as NICE, advises the state-run NHS on which treatments represent value for money.