AAA confident of convincing NICE of Lutathera value

Jeevan Virk, commercial director for the UK and Ireland at French molecular nuclear medicine specialist Advanced Accelerator Applications’ (Nasdaq: AAAP), admitted that it was not a shock when the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published draft guidance not recommending Lutathera (Lutetium Lu 177 dotatate) for treating neuroendocrine tumors of gastrointestinal and pancreatic origin.

The NICE found that the cost-effectiveness estimates for Lutathera were higher than the £20,000 ($26,440)- £30,000 ($39,660) per quality adjusted life year (QALY) normally considered as a fair price by the UK medicines cost-effectiveness watchdog, with the treatment not meeting the required end of life criteria.

“We're not really massively surprised,” Mr Virk says. “Many drugs go through a negative draft guidance stage and they go on to have a positive recommendation in the final guidance – I guess it's part of the process of going through the NICE appraisal.”