Busy day for NICE, which says yes to five drugs in final guidance

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the medicines cost-effectiveness for England and Wales, has today published final guidance recommending that five drugs to treat four different conditions should be routinely funded by the National Health Service.

Ceritinib for lung cancer

The NICE recommends ceritinib Zykadia (ceritinib) from Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX) for treating non-small-cell lung cancer in adults who have previously had crizotinib. Ceritinib is targeted therapy which aims to slow the growth of lung cancer in people who have a specific mutation.The independent committee that appraised the drug concluded that ceritinib was likely to prolong life in people whose disease had progressed after prior treatment.