Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK.LN) Friday said the U.K.'s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommended the use of its drug Hycamtin for patients whose lung cancer has returned.

Hycamtin can be prescribed for lung cancer patients whose initial treatment regime won't work again and who can't be given a combination of three other cancer medicines used to fight the disease, the institute, known as NICE, has ruled, GlaxoSmithKline said.

"This will mean that healthcare professionals can now offer a treatment to patients where previously there were very few options," said consultant medical oncologist Mary O'Brien.

NICE is the body that determines which drugs and devices are a cost-effective use of the U.K.'s state-run National Health Service's resources. In August, it said health service funds shouldn't be used to pay for treatment with Roche Holding AG's (ROG.VX) Avastin, Bayer AG's (BAY.XE) Nexavar or Wyeth's (WYE) Torisel in kidney cancer. The high cost of these drugs outweighs their benefits, NICE said.

Company Web site: www.gsk.com

-By Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272; jason.douglas@dowjones.com
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