CDF deal prompts NICE nod for new Opdivo indication

Opdivo (nivolumab), one of the frontrunners in the first wave of immuno-oncology treatments, should be made available to some English people with lung cancer through the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF), according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

The cost-effectiveness watchdog has published draft guidance advising that the treatment be made available through the CDF, a scheme to give early access to new cancer drugs, after US pharma major Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) agreed to provide it at a discounted price.

Around 1,300 lung cancer patients are expected to receive Opdivo as part of the CDF deal.