Eloxatin and Campto gain new NICE approval
pharmafile | April 13, 2005 | News story | Sales and Marketing |Â Â Â
NICE has recommended two more chemotherapy drugs for the first-line treatment of advanced colorectal cancer.
The institute said that Sanofi-Aventis' Eloxatin (oxaliplatin) and Pfizer's Campto (irinotecan) should be considered as first-line treatment for the disease.
It has updated its earlier approval of Eloxatin and Campto following a new appraisal of the treatments.
NICE concluded that both treatments were cost-effective and that combining the colorectal cancer drugs with the standard therapy can improve survival rates in patients.
It has recommended that Eloxatin be used in combination with conventional 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid as a first-line therapy. It has issued the same recommendation for Campto as well as advising its use alone as a second-line therapy.
The updated approvals bring treatment for patients in England and Wales in line with the rest of Europe.
Jola Gore-Booth, chief executive of Colon Cancer Concern, told the BBC: "This is the biggest and the most exciting news we have had for patients with bowel cancer in the last 50 years."
The institute will make its final recommendation following a second Appraisal Committee meeting scheduled for 11 May.
Nearly 100 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer every day, with 50 of these in the advanced stage of the disease.






