Opposition to NICE ruling on Janssen Cilag’s Velcade grows

NICE’s decision not to recommend that Velcade (bortezomib) is prescribed on the NHS to patients with multiple myeloma has drawn further condemnation.

NICE said it would not recommend Velcade as the clinical pathway for treatment with the drug was “uncertain”. It added that the manufacturer should have compared the drug to other available treatments.

A statement read: “The Committee was not persuaded that the economic model provided by the manufacturer had shown bortezomib to be cost effective compared with current practice in the NHS in England and Wales.”

Earlier this week, Cancerbackup, a cancer information charity, described the NICE ruling as “desperately disappointing”, pointing to trials that had shown the drug to be effective.

Joanne Rule, Cancerbackup’s chief executive, remarked: “We urge NICE to give a positive final decision.”

Now critics are questioning NICE’s reasoning as the drug has been approved for use in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Eric Low, the executive director of the International Myeloma Foundation, told the Telegraph: “This is a shocking decision. It is devastating, unjust, unfair and ill-informed.”

“We have missed a golden opportunity here. This decision has been made because of financial reasons – it must have been. NICE has failed to understand how myeloma is treated and the vital role Velcade plays,” he concluded.

NICE’s cost calculation methods have come under scrutiny in recent times after Eisai requested government intervention to force NICE to reveal how its cost effectiveness calculations are decided.

The regulatory body previously said that the prescription of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for the treatment of early, mild Alzheimer’s disease would not be recommended in the NHS, sparking condemnation from stakeholders like Eisai and Shire.

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