This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Nivolumab to be given to patients with head and neck cancer
Hundreds of patients are to have access to a head and neck cancer drug after a new deal, NICE says.
Nivolumab, the immunotherapy drug also known as Opdivo, will be available for patients with head and neck cancer who have not responded to chemotherapy within six months, and the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has revealed.
When the drug was first reviewed by NICE, it was found that the evidence of its effectiveness was uncertain. NICE invited the maker of the drug, Bristol=Myers Squibb, to submit a Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) proposal to show how they would strengthen the evidence for nivolumab.
Patients can now have access to the drug via the NHS whilst it is within the CDF. During this time, further data will be collected from how well patients do who access the drug through the CDF and from a clinical trial to help address uncertainties in the evidence.
Carole Longson, director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation at NICE, said: “Nivolumab is an innovative drug that continues to draw attention, but its clinical evidence for some types of cancer can be uncertain. I am pleased the company has worked with us and NHS England to develop a managed access agreement and that we have found a way to provide for patients despite these uncertainties.”
NICE also recommended that regorafenib, a treatment option for people with gastrointestinal cancer, is moved out of the CDF and into routine NHS funding.
Longson said: “I am delighted that our appraisal of regorafenib means the drug will now move off the CDF and into routine NHS funding. This will mean people will be able to access it more easily, if it is the right treatment for them.”
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