Thalidomide recommended ahead of Velcade
pharmafile | June 2, 2010 | News story | Medical Communications | NICE, myeloma
Celgene’s Thalidomide has been recommended by NICE as a treatment for multiple myeloma, and is favoured ahead of Janssen-Cilag’s Velcade.
Thalidomide is recommended as a first-line treatment of the blood cancer multiple myeloma in people for whom high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplantation is considered inappropriate. The drug must be taken in combination with an alkylating agent and a corticosteroid.
NICE says Celgene’s treatment is more cost effective than its rival treatment: thalidomide will cost the NHS £2,100 compared to £3,000 for an average treatment-cycle of Velcade.
Multiple myeloma affects plasma cells found in bone marrow and is currently incurable. In the UK, an estimated 3,500 new cases of multiple myeloma are diagnosed each year, with 10,000-15,000 patients currently living with the disease.
Janssen-Cilag’s Velcade has been recommended as a treatment option if a patient is unable to tolerate – or has contraindications – for thalidomide.
Dr Carole Longson, health technology evaluation centre director at NICE, said: “The evidence clearly showed that both thalidomide and bortezomib regimens are more effective at delaying disease progression and improving patients’ life expectancy than the current treatment of an alkylating agent and corticosteroid alone.
“The evidence suggested that in terms of clinical effectiveness the two regimens were equivalent, but thalidomide regimens were more cost effective than the bortezomib regimen. However, for those people who are unable to take thalidomide, bortezomib was considered an appropriate and cost effective treatment option.”
NICE’s decision will be a blow to the US firm who had hoped to increase use of Velcade.
The firm agreed a ‘risk-sharing scheme’ with NICE in 2007 for its drug’s use in patients who fail on first line treatment but, as part of the scheme, J&J is required to reimburse the NHS for the cost of treatment for patients who do not respond.
Ben Adams
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