Small cell lung cancer (SCLC)
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) counts as a rare disease in Switzerland: Swissmedic has granted 17 orphan drug statuses for this indication. A medicine receives the status when no more than 5 in 10,000 people in Switzerland are affected by the life-threatening or chronically debilitating disease (Art. 4 para. 1 let. a decies TPA).
9 medicines carry a Swissmedic authorisation number for it and 13 companies hold the status. The table below lists every published orphan indication with the date the status was granted.
Orphan designations
Swissmedic publishes one row per medicine and orphan indication: the indication in the wording of the decision, the date the status was granted and, where the status was withdrawn, the withdrawal date. The table below reproduces those rows unchanged and links every indication to the matching rare disease in the directory.
| Orphan indication | Status granted | Status withdrawn |
|---|---|---|
| Behandlung des ROS1-positiven, NTRK-positiven, ALK-positiven, LTK-positiven, ACK1-positiven oder DDR1-positiven nicht-kleinzelligen Lungenkarzinoms (NSCLC). | 07/05/2026 | Status active |
| Behandlung des kleinzelligen Lungenkarzinoms | 20/05/2025 | Status active |
| Behandlung des nicht-kleinzelligen Lungenkarzinoms mit KRAS-G12C-Mutation | 16/01/2025 | Status active |
| Behandlung des kleinzelligen Lungenkarzinoms | 06/09/2024 | Status active |
| kleinzelliges Lungenkarzinom | 19/06/2023 | Status active |
| Traitement du cancer du poumon non à petites cellules RET-fusion-positif. | 16/12/2021 | Status active |
| Behandlung von nicht-kleinzelligem Lungenkarzinom mit MET-Alterationen | 14/01/2021 | Status active |
| Nichtkleinzelliges Lungenkarzinom mit Rearrangement des RET (Rearranged during Transfection)-Gens | 03/11/2020 | Status active |
| Behandlung von nicht-kleinzelligem Lungenkrebs (NSCLC) mit genetischer Veränderung des Epidermalen Wachstumsfaktorrezeptors (EGFR), einschliesslich EGFR-Mutationen und / oder EGFR-Genamplifikation, HER2-Mutationen oder BRAF G466V-Mutationen. | 06/10/2020 | 10/10/2024 |
| Behandlung von nicht-kleinzelligem Lungenkarzinom mit genomischen Tumoraberrationen vom MET-Typ | 26/11/2019 | Status active |
| Behandlung des KRAS p.G12C-positiven nicht-kleinzelligen Lungenkarzinoms | 21/11/2019 | Status active |
| Behandlung des kleinzelligen Lungenkarzinoms | 20/11/2019 | Status active |
| Behandlung des TrkA-positiven, TrkB-positiven, TrkC-positiven, ROS1-positiven und ALK-positiven nicht-kleinzelligen Lungenkarzinoms | 26/03/2019 | Status active |
| Nicht-kleinzelliges Lungenkarzinom (NSCLC) bei Patienten mit EGFR, HER2, HER4 oder DDR2 Mutationen | 19/09/2017 | Status active |
| ALK-positives, ROS1-positives oder EGFR-positives nicht-kleinzelliges Lungenkarzinom (NSCLC) | 03/07/2017 | Status active |
| Behandlung von ALK-positivem nicht-kleinzelligem Lungenkarzinom | 09/02/2016 | Status active |
| Behandlung von ALK-positivem nicht-kleinzelligem Lungenkarzinom | 17/12/2010 | 22/01/2015 |
Medicines
- AlecensaAuthorised
- AlunbrigAuthorised
- HetroniflyAuthorised
- ImdylltraAuthorised
- RetsevmoAuthorised
- RozlytrekAuthorised
- TabrectaAuthorised
- TepmetkoAuthorised
- ZepzelcaAuthorised
Reimbursement
Whether compulsory health insurance pays for this medicine depends on the FOPH specialities list (SL). Medicines that are not listed can be reimbursed case by case under Art. 71a-71d KVV.
Care in Switzerland
Switzerland concentrates rare-disease care in the centres recognised by kosek. Patient organisations are networked through ProRaris, and the Orphanet database maintains Swiss entries.
Frequently asked questions
Which medicines with orphan drug status are available in Switzerland for Small cell lung cancer (SCLC)?
Swissmedic lists 9 medicines with orphan drug status for this indication, among them Alecensa, Alunbrig, Hetronifly, Imdylltra, Retsevmo. The full list with authorisation number and date is in the table on this page.
Does Swiss health insurance cover the treatment?
A medicine is reimbursed once it is on the FOPH specialities list (SL). Without an SL listing, or for use outside the limitation, reimbursement in an individual case under Art. 71a to 71d KVV is possible: the insurer decides after consulting its medical adviser, normally within two weeks.
Where are patients treated in Switzerland?
Care is delivered by the rare-disease centres recognised by kosek at the university and cantonal hospitals. Patient organisations are united in the ProRaris alliance, and diagnoses and reference centres are documented in Orphanet.
Bring your orphan drug to Switzerland
You can enquire about orphan drug status, authorisation and reimbursement in Switzerland. Any specialist service and its scope are agreed separately with the external partner.
- Public Swissmedic data
- Four language versions