NICE says 'yes' to Bosulif, first drug reappraised from Cancer Drugs Fund

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has today recommended National Health Service use of US pharma giant Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) Bosulif (bosutinib) for treating some people with chronic myeloid leukemia, a drug which was previously only available through the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF).

Bosutinib is the first drug to go through the reappraisal process, where NICE assesses the cost and clinical effectiveness of drugs currently in the old CDF. The current list price for bosutinib is around £45,000 ($58,050) per patient a year, however a discount for use in the NHS has been offered by the manufacturer.

NICE originally published guidance not recommending bosutinib in November 2013. It was then made available in the CDF. After the decision to reform the CDF, NICE began reappraising all drugs currently in the CDF in April 2016. As part of the reappraisal, the manufacturer submitted a further discount which was included in their additional cost analyses.