UCB’s Cimzia recommended by NICE for severe rheumatoid arthritis

UCB's drug Cimzia has been recommended in new draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for the treatment of severe rheumatoid arthritis.

Currently, the certolizumab pegol-based therapy is recommended for NHS use as a treatment for cases of severe rheumatoid arthritis that have not responded to intensive therapy with a combination of conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.

The new guidance, which has not yet been finalised, extends this indication to include people for whom TNF inhibitors have been tried and where rituximab is not an option. Treatment should only be continued if there is a moderate response after six months.

Around 580,000 people in England have rheumatoid arthritis, with an estimated 15 percent of these having the severe form of the disease.

If this decision is made final, the drug will become one of a number of NICE-approved options for severe rheumatoid arthritis in cases where TNF inhibitors and rituximab cannot be used.

Professor Carole Longson, director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation at NICE, said: "We hope that adding certolizumab pegol to this list will mean that people with severe rheumatoid arthritis will be able to manage their condition more effectively so they can lead as full and active a life as possible."