BRIEF—NICE technology appraisals on daratumumab and crizotinib

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recommended daratumumab (Darzalex, Janssen) for some adults with previously treated multiple myeloma within the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF).

The committee agreed that additional data collected through the CDF would provide more robust evidence on the clinical effectiveness of daratumumab compared with current treatment options.

Data will be collected until November 2020 after which this guidance will be reviewed. The drug will be available to patients through interim CDF funding throughout this time. Around 705 patients a year will be eligible for treatment.

The NICE has also invited Pfizer to submit a CDF proposal for crizotinib (Xalkori) to treat ROS1-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

ROS1-positive lung cancer is a recently discovered subtype therefore the evidence for crizotinib’s effectiveness in treating it is limited. The committee concluded that this limited data meant the cost-effectiveness estimates are highly uncertain.

The committee accepted that crizotinib is a promising treatment and therefore agreed that it would like the company to consider a proposal for including it in the Cancer Drugs Fund. The NICE already recommends crizotinib for ALK-positive lung cancer.