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NICE give nivolumab NO as initial recommendation

by | Jul 6, 2016 | Kidney Cancer News

NICE give nivolumab NO as initial recommendation

We were all hoping for good news regarding the NICE appraisal of Nivolumab in October,however, we are disappointed to report that this is looking less likely at the moment.  Following the first committee meeting, which took place to review the clinical trial evidence and cost effectiveness of the life-extending treatment Nivolumab for advanced kidney cancer, NICE has said that it is unlikely they will recommend the drug for advanced renal or lung cancer. Kidney Cancer UK is extremely disappointed by this news and hopes there is still a chance that NICE might change their views at the second committee meeting in August.  We understand how important this is to so many people and therefore intend to campaign to get this recommendation reversed and the approval passed.
Nivolumab has shown great promise in the treatment of skin and advanced kidney cancer.  Consequently it makes no sense to us why
it would be recommended for use in skin cancer a few weeks ago but subsequently not be recommended for advanced kidney cancer.  To the best of our knowledge the price of the drug is the same in both cases and the number of people who would benefit is similar. The only difference we can ascertain is that we are now post EU decision and perhaps the government is tightening belts in this time of uncertainty. We can only speculate.
We will continue to campaign, offer comments on, and question the NICE Nivolumab appraisal process. We hope NICE will realise how many people would benefit from Nivolumab and from having more treatment options for advanced kidney cancer.  Please be assured that if Nivolumab is not recommended for NHS use, we will be questioning the process of drug evaluation by NICE. We will keep you updated on this subject and we sincerely hope for more promising news in the future.

<a href="https://www.kcuk.org.uk/author/mp/" target="_self">Malcolm Packer</a>

Malcolm Packer

Malcolm is Chief Executive Officer at Kidney Cancer UK and Kidney Cancer Scotland and has worked with the charity in various capacities for over 15 years.