NICE leaves door open for Spinraza after branding it too pricey

15 August 2018

The cost regulator for England and Wales has not recommending paying for Biogen’s (Nasdaq: BIIB) Spinraza (nusinersen) on the National Health Service (NHS) in draft guidance published on Tuesday.

Uncertainties over the long-term effectiveness and the ‘extremely high cost’ are cited by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as the reasons for its stance on the drug’s usage for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic disorder.

The NICE committee concluded that, based on its list price, the cost-effectiveness estimates for Spinraza ranged between £400,000 ($509,000) and £600,000 per year of quality adjusted life gained.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Try before you buy

Free

7 day trial access

Take a Free Trial

All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.

Become a subscriber

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now

Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription

The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK