First ever drug approved for genetic cancer-causing disease

Getty/NoSystem images

By Olivia Bowthorpe

A preventative drug has been approved for eligible adult NHS patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease, a genetic condition that can cause multiple, often cancerous, tumours in different body parts.

Belzutifan, sold as Welireg, has been shown to halt or reduce tumour size in 95% of patients. It is now recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence under a Managed Access Agreement (MAA)¹.