PMI policyholders severe pancreatitis could be the first in line to access a new EU gene therapy.
The European Commission has been advised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) committee to approve the treatment for marketing in Europe.
If authorised the treatment, alipogene tiparvovec with brand name Glybera, may be sold in the UK in the next few months.
Unless it is approved for NHS use, it may only be available for those with private medical insurance.
Dr Tomas Salmonson, acting chair of the EMA's Committee for medicinal products for human use, said the committee had determined the benefits of Glybera were "greater than its known risks".
Jorn Aldag, chief executive of manufacturer UniQure, has welcomed the decision and said gene therapies such as Glybera will be "a mainstay in clinical practice" in the future.
The therapy will treat a rare inherited disorder called lipoprotein lipase (LPL) deficiency in patients with severe pancreatitis attacks.
It delivers working copies of a defective gene that causes the enzyme deficiency.
