NICE recommend Takeda’s lymphoma treatment Adcetris
pharmafile | March 25, 2019 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Cancer, NICE, Takeda, UK, lymphoma, oncology, recommendation
Britain’s cost effectiveness body has recommended Takeda’s Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) for adult patients with CD-30 positive advanced cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).
CTCL, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is in most cases incurable. Eligible patients will however, now be able to access Takeda’s treatment which has shown significant improvement in disease response comparted to current standard-of-care therapies, in clinical trials.
The drug provided a statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of overall response rate lasting at least four months compared to the control arm (56.3% in the brentuximab vedotin arm compared to 12.5% in the control arm).
Professor Julia Scarisbrick, Consultant Dermatologist, University Hospital Birmingham said: “The availability of brentuximab vedotin on the NHS is a significant step forward in the treatment of CD30 positive skin lymphoma; it will offer patients the chance to achieve more durable and longer-term improvements in their disease and, in some patients, this will offer the potential to reach a bone marrow transplant.”
“This is something that has been impossible to achieve for most patients, due to poor responses to current standards of care, with many spending substantial time in resource-intensive end-stage care that has a significant impact on quality of life.”
Ropinder Gill, Chief Executive, Lymphoma Action commented on the recommendation: “Access to this treatment will make a real difference to people affected by CTCL with the potential to improve their quality of life. Although rare, advanced CTCL is a devastating disease for patients and their families to live with. Rarely curable, it is currently managed with a variety of different treatments. The physical impact on the skin alone means patients can suffer daily with severe pain and unrelenting itching.”
“Skin lesions and tumours need constant and regular management and this can have a significant financial impact for the patient. In addition, the psychological impact of a cancer diagnosis means that many patients suffer with emotional and relationship issues with family and friends, and with CTCL this is compounded by feelings of isolation and being self-conscious. So we are really pleased that this treatment will improve quality of life and, for some, make a stem cell transplant more viable as well.”
Jon Neal, Managing Director of Takeda, UK and Ireland, said: “We are really pleased NICE has approved brentuximab vedotin for patients with the most debilitating forms of CTCL. During the appraisal process, the Takeda team, together with the clinical and patient community, were able to convey to NICE the immense impact end-stage disease has on quality of life and the potential brentuximab vedotin has in improving clinical and quality of life outcomes. This means patients can now gain routine access via the NHS and clinical practice can be aligned to guideline recommendations.”
Louis Goss
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