NICE gives partial recommendation for RoActemra
pharmafile | December 14, 2011 | News story | Sales and Marketing | RoActemra, Roche
Roche’s patient access scheme has persuaded NICE to recommend RoActemra in childhood arthritis under certain circumstances.
In its final guidance released today the watchdog has recommended RoActemra (tocilizumab) for the treatment of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis in children aged two years and older who have failed on ibuprofen, systemic corticosteroids and methotrexate.
But the drug isn’t recommended in cases where children and young people aged two years and older whose disease continues to respond to methotrexate, or who have not been treated with methotrexate.
This reverses the decision made by the watchdog in August, when it was minded not to recommend the drug under any condition.
NICE had asked for more data from Roche on RoActemra compared with other drugs commonly used to treat systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
RoActemra is being made available through a patient access scheme, which discounts the cost of the drug to the NHS.
The size of the discount had been made confidential, but the drug normally costs £7,987.20 per year for a 30 kg patient and £9,984 per year for a 25kg patient.
Professor Carole Longson, health technology evaluation centre director at NICE, said: “The discount agreed as part of the patient access scheme put forward by the manufacturer, in addition to the further information they provided at the committee’s request, has enabled the committee to recommend RoActemra.”
The drug is already NICE recommended for early use in early arthritis for adult patients after treatment with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.
Ben Adams
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