NICE recommends Lilly’s long-acting Bydureon
pharmafile | October 18, 2011 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Bydureon, NICE, diabetes
NICE has recommended Eli Lilly’s long-acting diabetes drug Bydureon after the failure of oral treatments.
Bydureon (exenatide) – a long-acting form of Lilly’s established drug Byetta – is an injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist used when patients can no longer keep their blood sugar levels low but who do not want to go onto insulin.
Insulin must be injected multiple times throughout the day but Bydureon is a more attractive option as it only needs to be injected once a week.
In draft guidance NICE has recommended the drug in combination with metformin and a sulphonylurea, or metformin and Takeda’s Actos, as a treatment option for people with type II diabetes when they can no longer control their blood sugar levels.
For this triple regimen therapy it is also recommended in European patients with a BMI of over 35 who are suffering psychologically as a result of their weight, or for those with a BMI below 35 where therapy with insulin would have significant occupational implications or would benefit medically from weight loss.
NICE is also recommending Bydureon in a dual therapy regimen, in combination with metformin if a sulphonylurea is contraindicated or not tolerated and in combination with a sulphonylurea where metformin is contraindicated or not tolerated.
In this setting Bydureon is also recommended if drugs such as Actos or Merck’s Januvia are contraindicated or not tolerated.
Bydureon costs £73.36 per week for a pack of four single-dose kits containing one vial of exenatide 2mg powder and a pre-filled syringe of solvent.
NICE already recommends a similar treatment in Novo Nordisk’s Victoza, but the watchdog only recommends the drug at a low 1.2mg dose, and it must be injected daily.
Both drugs will be competing to be the treatment of choice for doctors in England, but the lower frequency of administration for Bydureon and a recent head-to-head trial with Victoza showing the drug produced similar reductions in blood sugar level with less side effects may give Lilly the edge over Novo Nordisk.
Professor Carole Longson, health technology evaluation centre director at NICE, said: “Type II diabetes is becoming increasingly more common in adults, so we are pleased to recommend exenatide as a treatment option for some people with the condition.
“These draft recommendations are now available for public consultation, and [Lilly] and other consultees have the opportunity to respond to concerns and comments made by the Appraisal Committee.”
Final guidance is set to be published in February next year.
Ben Adams
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