Global Insight's Analysis Of Nice's Rejection Of Cancer Drug Erbitux For NHS Use, UK

Main Category: Colorectal Cancer
Also Included In: GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology;  Cancer / Oncology;  Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals
Article Date: 26 Sep 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Global Insight's Senior Analyst/Oncology Gustav Ando's note on NICE's rejection of cancer drug Erbitux for NHS use.

"In another setback for patients in the U.K., an important new colorectal cancer treatment called Erbitux has been deemed too expensive to become readily available on the NHS. Following hot on the heels of last month's controversial decision to reject four new drugs for kidney cancer, this latest announcement will once again raise questions over the role of health cost-effectiveness watchdog NICE in deciding which drugs should and shouldn't be used on the NHS, particularly with critical diseases such as cancer."

"NICE admitted that Erbitux, a so-called "targeted therapy", is effective as a treatment for colorectal cancer. However, the drug's cost of £36,346 exceeds a controversial, pre-specified threshold of £20,000 which NICE uses as an arbitrary measure of whether a drug brings overall economic value to the NHS. The decision comes as little surprise, as Erbitux has also been rejected by NICE for colorectal cancer in patients who have previously failed chemotherapy, as well as for lung cancer. Last month, 26 leading oncologists took unprecedented action by writing a letter to the media condemning NICE's decision-making process, noting that its cost-effectiveness measures were inappropriate for cancer, and that patients in the U.K. are suffering disproportionately from its decisions."

"It is becoming increasingly apparent that NICE's approach is out of tune with general public opinion. Although Prime Minister Gordon Brown this week has tried to assuage fears over the standard of the U.K.'s cancer care by removing prescription charges, it fails to address the underlying issue, which is that the latest, most effective cancer treatments are being outright rejected for use on the NHS. Ultimately, one must wonder: what is the point of removing prescription charges, if the drugs that you are receiving for free are old and not very good compared to what patients in other countries are receiving?"

Erbitux is currently the key asset in an ongoing takeover battle between U.S. companies ImClone, which originally developed the drug, and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS)

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