Pfizer UK says NICE Exubera decision is “missed opportunity”

Pfizer UK has branded NICE’s decision to restrict the use of its inhaled insulin drug, Exubera, to patients with a “marked and persistent fear of injections” or with injection site problems, as a “missed opportunity”.

The company claims that this denies the majority of the country’s diabetic population the “only alternative” current alternative to mealtime insulin injections. Furthermore, NICE’s final appraisal determination could discourage some people from benefiting from Exubera treatment if they have to be diagnosed with a phobia first, Pfizer states.

Dr Kate Lloyd, Pfizer UK’s medical director, remarked: “[We] share the disappointment of others that many patients could still miss out on getting access to inhaled insulin.”

Pfizer UK’s managing director, Dr Olivier Brandicourt, criticised the decision, saying that rhetoric must be turned into reality in order to deliver a patient-led NHS.

“We must stop this narrow focus on cost minimisation and start placing more value on patient preferences and patient choice,” he stated.

Diabetes UK, the charity, has also criticised the NICE guidance for Exubera.

Following the drug’s launch in August, Simon O’Neill, director of care and policy at Diabetes UK, said the decision to prescribe Exubera should belong to the patient and their specialist, and not be based on cost.

Inhaled insulin products are also being developed by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, which contests the originality of Pfizer’s Exubera.

In related news, last week the Scottish Medicines Consortium said it would not recommend Pfizer’s Sutent for prescription in the NHS Scotland as the economic case for the drug was “not demonstrated”.