PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 644 - 7 Jan 2012

NICE recommends four drugsNICE has published new draft guidance

recommending Novartis’s imatinib [Glivec] and nilotinib[Tasigna] for first-line treatment of chronic myeloidleukaemia (CML); however, Bristol-Myers Squibb’sdasatinib [Sprycel] has not been recommended.1 Usingindirect comparisons of dasatinib and nilotinib, theappraisal committee concluded the two agents could beconsidered equally effective, and while both areexpensive treatments, the Department of Health andNovartis have agreed upon a confidential discount thathas enabled the independent committee to approvenilotinib for use on the NHS.

In final guidance, NICE has also recommendedRoche’s tocilizumab [RoActemra] for children andyoung people with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritisunresponsive to previous treatment.2 Therecommendation is dependent on the manufacturerproviding tocilizumab at the agreed discount as part of apatient access scheme.

NICE has also decided to recommend Pharmalgen asa preventative treatment for IgE-mediated bee and waspallergy in people who have had a severe (or moderatewith certain conditions) systemic reaction to bee orwasp venom.3 In the final draft guidance, NICE says thattreatment with Pharmalgen should be performed in acentre with experience in venom immunotherapy.

But no luck for fulvestrantHowever, in final guidance, NICE has not

recommended fulvestrant [Faslodex] as an alternative toaromatase inhibitors for women with estrogen receptor-positive, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.4

NICE concluded that fulvestrant did not demonstrate asignificant benefit over alternative treatments, and itsuse would therefore not be an effective use of NHSresources.1. National Institute for Clinical Excellence. NICE recommends two drugs for

chronic myeloid leukaemia. Media Release : 6 Dec 2011. Available from: URL:http://www.nice.org.uk.

2. NICE. NICE guidance recommends tocilizumab for arthritic condition inchildren and young people. Media Release : 13 Dec 2011. Available from: URL:http://www.nice.org.uk.

3. NICE. NICE recommends Pharmalgen for bee and wasp allergy in final draftguidance. Media Release : 16 Dec 2011. Available from: URL: http://www.nice.org.uk.

4. NICE. Breast cancer drug not proven to be better than existing treatments, saysfinal guidance. Media Release : 13 Dec 2011. Available from: URL: http://www.nice.org.uk.

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 7 Jan 2012 No. 6441173-5503/10/0644-0001/$14.95 © 2010 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved