August 27, 2009
NICE have decided not to approve three drugs to treat advanced kidney cancr
In April we wrote about the decision by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) not to recommend three new treatments for advanced kidney cancer on the NHS.
Today NICE have announced their final decision on these drugs.
As regular readers might remember, this time last year NICE ruled that none of four new drugs, bevacizumab (Avastin), sorafenib (Nexavar), temsirolimus (Torisel), or sunitinib (Sutent) should be recommended to treat advanced kidney cancer on the NHS.
Since there are very few treatment options for people with advanced kidney cancer, we were naturally disappointed that NICE’s decision would mean that these new treatments, which have shown benefit in clinical trials, would not be routinely available on the NHS.
Sunitinib approved
In response to these concerns, in January NICE introduced new powers for its Committees, known as its ‘end of life’ criteria, and as a result, in February, sunitinib has now been successfully approved for use.
However, last night we found out that the appeal against NICE’s negative decision on the remaining three drugs has been unsuccessful. This decision is now final.
Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | 
Cancer Treatment, Drug approval, Kidney | 
Permalink
Posted by Jon Spiers
April 29, 2009
NICE are set to reject three kidney cancer drugs
The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has announced its final decision on whether people with advanced kidney cancer can have access to three controversial new drugs – bevicisumab (Avastin), sorafenib (Nexavar) and temsirolimus (Torisel).
Unlike sunitinib (Sutent), which the Institute approved for advanced kidney cancer patients in February, it decided today that these drugs are currently too expensive for the amount of benefit they bring.
We accept that NICE has a very tricky job to do in assessing the limited available evidence for these drugs. And we recognise the efforts of the drugs’ manufacturers to negotiate pricing schemes that the NHS can afford.
Nevertheless, we’re disappointed and concerned by this decision – for two main reasons.
Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | 
Cancer Treatment, Chemotherapy & Drugs, Drug approval, Kidney, Policy | 
Permalink
Posted by Henry Scowcroft
February 4, 2009
NICE has been deliberating over whether to recommend drugs to treat kidney cancer
Six months after their preliminary decision, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) today issued its final guidance on the chemotherapy drug Sutent (sunitinib).
The drug will now be available on the NHS to treat patients with advanced kidney cancer.
We’re delighted with this decision.
Regular readers of this blog will remember our disappointment last August when NICE, which decides which drugs and treatments should be available on the NHS, decided initially not to recommend Sutent, along with three other drugs.
Read the rest of this entry »
10 Comments | 
Cancer Treatment, Chemotherapy & Drugs, Drug approval, Kidney, Policy | 
Permalink
Posted by Henry Scowcroft
January 20, 2009
NICE are deciding whether to fund four new drugs for advanced kidney cancer
35 experts, 7 administrators, 15 public observers… one very important decision. Last week, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) held a meeting in Manchester to finally decide whether or not to recommend four drugs for advanced kidney cancer on the NHS.
Regular readers of this blog will know that the original decision not to recommend these treatments back in August 2008 was met with outcry from kidney cancer patients and their doctors alike.
Cancer Research UK was also dismayed by this draft guidance – and through this blog we sought the views of the public to help shape how we would respond to NICE. Our response spelt out why we felt this decision was unfair – and we appealed to NICE to reconsider.
In keeping with NICE’s processes, a second appraisal meeting took place last September- where the responses from the manufacturers of the four drugs, and from other stakeholders – including Cancer Research UK – were discussed.
The final meeting was scheduled to take place in November 2008 – but due to some last minute clinical evidence submitted by the manufacturers of two of the drugs – Pfizer, who make sunitinib (Sutent) and Bayer, makers of sorafenib (Nexavar) – the meeting was postponed until January 2009.
Although Cancer Research UK was frustrated by this delay, we appreciated that NICE needed the extra time to assess this new evidence.
Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments | Cancer Treatment, Chemotherapy & Drugs, Drug approval, Kidney | Permalink
Posted by Emma Gilgunn-Jones
October 31, 2008
Just a quick update on NICE’s ongoing appraisal of the use of four new drugs to treat metastatic kidney cancer.
You may remember that in August, NICE, the organisation that assesses the cost-effectiveness of new treatments, and recommends them to the NHS, made a preliminary decision that four new drugs were too expensive to be used to treat kidney cancer that had spread, judging by the available evidence.
Cancer Research UK, and others, were very disappointed with this decision, and submitted feedback to NICE during the ensuing consultation process.
Based on these submissions, NICE intended to announce their final decision at some point in late 2008.
However, two of the pharmaceutical firms who make these drugs have submitted new evidence of their effectiveness in patients. NICE will now review this, and have today announced that they will issue another draft recommendation early in the New Year.
The announcement of their final decision is not now expected until later in 2009.
Obviously, these are frustrating delays for patients and their doctors, but we hope that the final outcome will be a positive one for people suffering from kidney cancer. And we’re pleased that NICE is taking the time to review this new evidence properly and carefully.
Henry
9 Comments | Cancer Treatment, Chemotherapy & Drugs, Kidney, Policy | Permalink
Posted by Henry Scowcroft
Welcome to the
