Response to NICE decision on Roche’s Tarceva

Charity Cancer Research UK has said that preliminary decision by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) not to recommend Tarceva (erlotinib) for use by patients in England is “deeply disappointing.”

The drug – used in a number of European countries and some patients in Scotland – is indicated for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

Professor Alex Markham, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “NICE reports a lack of direct evidence about the benefits of Tarceva compared with the drug docetaxel, but lack of evidence does mean evidence of a lack of benefit.”

He added that condition was difficult to treat, with the drug being a rare notable treatment to emerge in recent years which results in a longer life for sufferers of the disease.

The charity stated that it would write to the institute to inform them of their resistance to this decision and request a review of the judgement to allow those with non-small cell lung cancer throughout the UK to use the treatment.

At the National Cancer Research Institute it was recently announced that a network of Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres with a funding of ?35 million from the charity and Department of Health would be set up across the UK.