NICE approves MSD’s Keytruda for new cancer indication
pharmafile | December 1, 2016 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | MSD, NICE, keytruda
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has announced its recommendation of MSD’s immunotherapy drug Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who have undergone at least one chemotherapy.
Merck has been able to sway the previously negative stance shown by NICE in previous appraisals by providing up-to-date clinical trial data analysis to dispel doubts over its long-term benefits, alongside an additional price cut on the drug. With around 1,700 people eligible for this treatment, NHS England will now utilise the drug routinely under the caveat that treatment of patients whose disease has not deteriorated will be stopped after two years.
By blocking PD-L1, a protein more prevalent in cancerous cells, Keytruda better enables the body’s immune system to attack cancers.
“This patient population has very limited options, and there has been a lack of new therapies that improve survival without significantly impacting the quality of life of patients,” noted Dr Gary Middleton, professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Birmingham, “so the NICE recommendation for pembrolizumab is great news. Additionally, having a new treatment option with a biomarker to help identify the most appropriate patients, means we can start to offer truly personalised care for people with NSCLC”
Director of the NICE centre for health technology evaluation Carole Longson commented: “People with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer have had limited treatment options so it is great that pembrolizumab will now be routinely available. The company put forward a fairly priced proposal that reflected the benefits their drug offered. If companies work with us to price drugs reasonably and manage any uncertainties in the evidence base, we can continue to recommend patients have routine access to the treatments they need.”
The drug was not as well received in the lung cancer indication, where it was knocked back by NICE in October due to cost-efficiency concerns.
Matt Fellows
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