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NICE unsure of benefits of skin cancer drug
August 15, 2012
NICE is unlikely to approve vemurafenib for the treatment of advanced skin cancer unless the drug's manufacturer can provide convincing evidence of its cost-effectiveness.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is unlikely to approve a new melanoma skin cancer drug for use on the NHS unless its manufacturer provides further evidence on its cost-effectiveness.
When it published draft guidance rejecting vemurafenib (brand name Zelboraf) earlier this year, NICE asked pharmaceutical company Roche to provide more data on the drug's effectiveness in relation to its cost.
Its independent appraisers have now reviewed this evidence and determined they need even more information to inform their decision-making process.
This means that unless the manufacturer can provide evidence that convinces the appraisal committee, vemurafenib will only be available to patients with private medical insurance or the means to pay for their own treatment.
Professor Carole Longson, director of NICE's Health Technology Evaluation Centre, explained: "We need to be sure that new treatments provide sufficient benefits to patients to justify the significant cost the NHS is being asked to pay.
"Vemurafenib is an expensive drug and its long-term benefits are difficult to quantify."
The skin cancer charity Skcin recently expressed concern at NICE's reluctance to approve vemurafenib for advanced melanoma skin cancer, describing the drug as a "major breakthrough".
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