Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Sprycel recommended by NICE for leukaemia

Bristol-Myers Squibb's chronic myeloid leukaemia therapy Sprycel has been recommended in new guidance from the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

The regulator has given a final appraisal determination recommending Sprycel for routine NHS use, based on data harvested from a phase III trial of 260 participants showing that the drug was associated with an 11 percent higher confirmed complete cytogenic response than the current standard of care.

As such, the targeted therapy was deemed to provide sufficient life expectancy benefits for patients, as well as representing a cost-effective use of NHS resources, thereby paving the way for this recommendation.

Chronic myeloid leukaemia affects 750 new patients a year with around 200 fatalities, but it is known that early diagnosis and effective treatment can allow 70 percent of sufferers to survive at least five years.

Benjamin Hickey, general manager of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the UK and Ireland, said: "Patients will now have access to an important treatment option that, in many patients, can improve their quality of life, while effectively managing the disease."

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