NICE U-turn on use of Merck and Pfizer's Bavencio for UC via the NHS

Today Germany’s Merck KGaA (MRK: DE) and US pharm giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) announced that, following a successful appeal of the prior negative Final Appraisal Document (FAD), the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has overturned its decision and now recommends the immunotherapy Bavencio (avelumab) as a maintenance treatment option in eligible adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC), also known as bladder cancer.

The decision is welcomed as avelumab is the first and only monotherapy for the first-line maintenance treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic UC who are progression-free following platinum-based chemotherapy and now offers a further treatment option for these patients. The NICE recommendation enables eligible patients in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to access this treatment via routine National Health Service (NHS) funding. Interim funding via the Cancer Drugs Fund will enable reimbursement of avelumab until NICE final guidance is published and funded after a 30-day mandatory period.

Background to the decision