Nice backs UCB’s Cimzia as alternate therapy for severe rheumatoid arthritis
pharmafile | July 13, 2016 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Cimzia, NICE, UCB, regulation, rheumatoid arthritis
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has recommended UCB Pharma’s Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) on its own or in combination with methotrexate, to treat rheumatoid arthritis when other drugs haven’t worked or aren’t suitable.
The regulator already recommends Cimzia for treating severe rheumatoid arthritis which has not responded to intensive therapy with a combination of conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs).
The draft guidance extends the number of people who can be considered for treatment with Cimzia by now recommending its use after a type of DMARD called a TNF inhibitor has been tried and rituximab is not an option.
It is thought that around 580,000,000 people in England have rheumatoid arthritis, an inflammatory autoimmune disease that usually affects the small joints of the hands and feet causing swelling, stiffness, pain and progressive joint destruction. About 15% have the severe form of the disease.
The draft guidance recommends Cimzia for people with severe active rheumatoid arthritis who:
• Have had an inadequate response to, or are unable to take DMARDs, at least one of which must have been a TNF inhibitor, and
• Are unable to take the drug rituximab
Professor Carole Longson MBE, director of the centre for health technology evaluation at Nice, said: “Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease for which there is no cure and one that can have a severe impact on quality of life.
“We hope that adding certolizumab pegol to this list will mean that people with severe rheumatoid arthritis will be able to manage their condition more effectively so they can lead as full and active a life as possible.”
Cimzia costs £6793 per patient during the first year and then £9295 yearly for subsequent years. This cost takes into account a patient access scheme agreed by the Department of Health with the company which provides the first 12 weeks of treatment free of charge.
Anjali Shukla
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