NICE gives go-ahead for Sandoz’s Rizmoic to treat opioid-induced constipation
pharmafile | September 30, 2020 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | NHS, NICE, Rizmoic, Sandoz, UK
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended Sandoz’s Rizmoic (naldemedine) for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in adults who have already received laxative treatment, meaning the therapy can now be used in routine use on the NHS in England and Wales.
Based on Phase 3 trial data, Rizmoic has been shown to increase the frequency of bowel movements compared to placebo in patients either with cancer or chronic non-cancer pain who had previously received laxative treatment. Further to these findings, NICE noted that these benefits translated into quality of life improvements for patients responding to the drug, compared to placebo.
Based on the data provided, NICE could confirm that routine use of the therapy would fall within a cost-effective use of NHS resources.
OIC affects more than 80% of cancer patients being treated with opioid therapies, and somewhere between 41% and 57% of patients with chronic non-cancer pain. The condition is associated with impaired workplace efficiency and a greater reliance on health services, and can often prove resistant to treatment.
Professor Anton Emmanuel, Consultant Neuro-Gastroenterologist at University College London Hospital and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, said the decision “provides clinicians with an alternative treatment option for patients with OIC, a chronic and distressing condition that is often overlooked and under-managed by the health community.”
Matt Fellows
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