Roche aims to make Avastin more affordable in UK

LONDON (Reuters) - Switzerland's Roche Holding AG launched blockbuster drug Avastin for breast cancer in Britain on Thursday and said it was working on ways to make the costly medicine more affordable.

Avastin was originally developed for colorectal cancer, but it has also proved effective in treating metastatic breast cancer when given alongside chemotherapy.

The current recommended dose in breast cancer, however, is twice that for bowel cancer, pushing up the annual cost of the treatment to around 42,000 pounds per patient.

"We recognise that is going to be a challenge for the system here, and we are looking at ways to address affordability -- and we should be making an announcement at the beginning of June," a Roche spokesman said.

The cost of Avastin is likely to prove particularly sensitive in Britain, given past controversy over access to another -- cheaper -- breast cancer drug, Herceptin, which is also sold by Roche.

The cost effectiveness of new drugs also receives an especially high profile in Britain, because they are reviewed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

But Roche is also looking at ways to address the affordability of Avastin in other European countries.

William Burns, head of pharmaceuticals, said last month it was studying ways to limit the cost in Europe, following a successful price-capping programme by majority-owned partner Genentech Inc. in the United States.

Roche is the world's biggest maker of cancer drugs, and some analysts say Avastin will become its biggest seller in the years ahead.