1 April 2016 - Roche Holding AG said it’s open to discussing ways to set prices for tumor-fighting treatments in the U.K., signaling that the world’s biggest maker of cancer drugs will seek to avoid a repeat of last year’s heated dispute with authorities over the cost of two key medicines.

The U.K., where cancer survival rates lag those of other developed countries, is in a unique position because its state-run National Health Service covers 54 million people in England. Under the Cancer Drugs Fund, which pays for therapies that aren’t deemed cost-effective enough for routine NHS use, the government put technology in place that may have the ability to track how patients are doing on treatment and help guide payment policy.

“We think the U.K. can really lead this,” Richard Erwin, Roche’s U.K. general manager, said in an interview Friday. “It won’t happen quickly but it’s something both ourselves and, I think, the NHS are committed to finding solutions on.”

For more details, go to: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-01/roche-sees-potential-for-u-k-to-lead-on-cancer-drug-payments