NICE has published its new draft recommendations on the use of cannabis-based medicinal products, following a comprehensive evaluation of their clinical and cost-effectiveness. The organisation says that the recommendation of fast-tracked guidance follows the re-classification of these products last year to allow specialist doctors to ‘prescribe them where the clinical needs of patients cannot be
NICE has unveiled a long-awaited review of its health technology evaluation methodologies, although a re-think on its core ‘QALY threshold’ approach won’t be included. England’s cost effectiveness watchdog recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and has often had a fractious relationship with the pharma industry over those years, especially when drugs have been rejected because of
Novartis announces Ribociclib has been recommended by the NICE for use on the NHS in combination with fulvestrant, where exemestane plus everolimus is the most appropriate alternative, for treating women with hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 negative (HR+/HER2-) locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have received prior endocrine therapy. Ribociclib in combination
NICE recommends use of Alnylam’s Patisiran, after issuing a preliminary ‘no’ back in December 2018. The treatment is for a progressive, life-threatening disease called hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (hATTR amyloidosis), which until recently, was an area of significant unmet need in England. The drug will now provide eligible patients suffering from the disease with a treatment
NICE has issued a new draft antimicrobial prescribing guidance on leg ulcer infections in adults. The guidance comes amid worries that the overuse of antimicrobials is adding to a global threat of worldwide antimicrobial resistance. Recent UN report showed that if left unchecked, antimicrobial resistance could cause as many as 10 million deaths per year
NICE announces the recommendation of Amgen’s blinatumomab for treating acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). The indication is for patients in first complete remission with minimal residual disease (MRD) activity of at least 0.1%. This decision to recommend the drug as a cost-effective use of NHS resources was made after the submission of new evidence from the
Akcea Therapeutics’ Inotersen has received recommendation from NICE, meaning the therapy will now be made available to NHS patients in England and Wales for the treatment of Stage 1 or Stage 2 polyneuropathy in adult patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (hATTR). hATTR is a serious condition caused by “the abnormal formation of the TTR protein
NICE has recommended funding for Nusinersen on the NHS. The recommendation was made for infants, children and adults with 5q spinal muscular atrophy and will be available through a scheme known as a Managed Access Agreement (MAA), meaning that patients will be able to get Nusinersen while more long-term data on its efficacy is gathered.
A report by MAP BioPharma (MAP) claims that NICE’s appraisal of rare disease medicines does not deliver equal access for patients urging the company to reform. The findings show that routine availability of new medicines was “delayed or prevented entirely due to an inflexible, inappropriate assessment processes”. Of the 24 completed STA reviews of rare
NICE and EMIG are working together to increase understanding of the services the Institute offers the life sciences industry. The collaboration also aims to open up a new channel for the industry to give feedback to NICE to inform any review, monitoring or refinement of its processes. The partnership will run as a pilot scheme
