Impending NICE decision over Janssen-Cilag’s Velcade draws criticism

NICE’s decision not to approve Velcade, the Janssen-Cilag drug for Myeloma, due on Tuesday, has drawn criticism from both patients and charities, who claim the regulator is condemning multiple myeloma sufferers to an early death.

In July, NICE published preliminary guidance stating that the drug should not be made available for prescription on the NHS because there were questions over the drug’s cost-effectiveness and the lack of detail in clinical trials used in the application.

The Telegraph reports that NICE will give its final guidance on Tuesday, which will admit that Velcade is “clinically effective” but not cost-effective, resulting in a negative decision.

Critics point to the fact that the drug has been made available in Scotland for some indications, but not England, as evidence of a disparity that could affect lives.

A spokesman for Myeloma UK told the Telegraph: “We are very concerned that NICE does not seem to take into account the fact that the cost of cancer treatments is increasing, particularly for less common cancers like myeloma.”

Jacky Pickles, a patient, added that she believed that the decision represents a new government policy that saves the NHS money “by condemning patients to an early death”.

Charity Cancerbackup urged NICE to give a positive decision in its final guidance for Velcade following the “desperately disappointing” decision made previously.

Velcade, originally developed by Millenium Pharmaceuticals, was launched in the UK in 2004.