Xgeva gains NICE recommendation for bone metastasis
pharmafile | August 17, 2012 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Amgen, NICE, Xgeva, bone metastatis
NICE is continuing to recommend Amgen’s Xgeva for certain groups of cancer patients whose disease has spread to their bones.
In final draft guidance the watchdog recommends Xgeva (denosumab) as a treatment for people with bone metastases from most solid cancer tumours.
Specifically, it recommends the drug in patients with bone metastases from breast cancer and people with bone metastases from solid tumours (other than breast or prostate) that would otherwise be prescribed bisphosphonates.
Xgeva works by preventing skeletal-related events from occurring from cancer – but not as an anti-cancer or pain relief treatment.
The recommendation comes after Amgen offered a confidential patient access scheme, which lowers the overall cost of the treatment for the NHS.
Without the discount a 120mg vial of denosumab costs £309.86, with a year of treatment (13 doses) being priced at £4,028.18 – with the discount, NICE said this was a cost effective use of NHS resources.
The evidence submitted for this appraisal focused on three specific categories: bone metastases from breast cancer, prostate cancer and from solid tumours other than breast or prostate (e.g., lung or kidney cancer).
NICE said it considered Xgeva as an alternative to a group of bone strengthening treatments called bisphosphonates and as an alternative to best supportive care where bisphosphonates are not used.
Most patients with bone metastasis from breast or prostate cancer are treated with bisphosphonates, namely Novartis’ Zometa (zoledronic acid) and Roche’s Boniva (ibandronic acid).
Professor Carole Longson, director of the centre for health technology evaluation at NICE, said: “Bone metastasis can severely affect a person’s quality of life, stopping them from doing things so many of us take for granted.
“We are therefore pleased that our draft guidance recommends denosumab for those patients who are most likely to benefit from the treatment.”
The treatment was not recommended by the Scottish Medicines Consortium as Amgen did not submit its drug for review.
NICE also recommends the drug as a treatment option for the primary prevention of osteoporotic fragility fractures only in postmenopausal women at increased risk of fractures.
Ben Adams
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