The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recommended erlotinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor, as an alternative to docetaxel as a second-line treatment option for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) provided the manufacturer (Roche) supplies erlotinib at a discounted and equivalent price to docetaxel. A Special Report in The Lancet Oncology published early Online reports on the evidence considered during this final approval process.
NICE had previously ruled against recommending the drug and after considering some quality of life issues such as the oral administration of erlotinib and the reduced risk of toxicities such as febrile neutropenia, the NICE Committee concluded that these additional benefits were not sufficient to consider erlotinib cost-effective compared with docetaxel. However, after Roche proposed a scheme to equalise costs between the two treatments, the Committee recommended approval for patients as an alternative second-line treatment: "The recommendation was made on the condition that the manufacturer provides erlotinib at an overall treatment cost (including administration, adverse events, and monitoring costs) equal to that of docetaxel", state the authors of the Special Report. This is the latest example of NICE and manufacturers collaborating to reduce drug costs within the NHS.
For more information call Alice Law on +44 (0) 20 7045 2176 or the NICE press office on (UK) 0845 003 7782 or +44 (0) 7775 583 813 E) Alice.Law@nice.org.uk
For full Special Report please see: http://press.thelancet.com/TLOnice.pdf
This is a LANCET ONCOLOGY paper, please credit it correctly
The Lancet Oncology