NICE Upholds Rejection of Expensive Cancer Drug as Calls for Flexible Drug Pricing Models Grow

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has rejected Zytiga for the second time. Despite evidence that the oncology drug is effective in improving outcomes for men with prostate cancer, the cost-effectiveness agency upheld its original ruling. The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) expressed disappointment and called for the National Health Service to use more flexible drug pricing models to determine a drug’s price.

ICR’s Dr. Nick James remarks, “It’s frustrating that a year and a half after NICE’s initial negative decision and subsequent reassessment, we remain in the same position – with men in England and Wales with newly diagnosed, advanced prostate cancer still unable to access abiraterone at the outset of treatment,” adding, “Abiraterone has clear benefits for helping men with prostate cancer to live longer with a better quality of life, so it is a great shame that patients are being denied the drug on the grounds of cost.” Read more here.

(Source: Phil Taylor, Pharmaphorum, 7/16/21)