Kadcyla's rejection confirms that NICE must change the way it considers cancer treatment, says analyst

13 August 2014

“The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) recent rejection of Kadcyla, Roche’s [ROG: SIX] latest HER2 positive cancer drug, in the UK comes as no big surprise, as it is the seventh breast cancer drug to be rejected since 2011,” says Jamie Mallinson, GlobalData’s analyst covering oncology and hematology.

NICE gave Roche the chance to negotiate a discounted price for Kadcyla in April this year, but this offer was not deemed cost effective for use within the National Health Service.

“Kadcyla is currently one of the most effective drugs used to treat metastatic HER2 positive breast cancer. It extends life by 5.8 months and has the potential to be used by more than 1,500 women in the UK alone. While NICE’s rejection means that Kadcyla will not be reimbursed within the NHS, the drug is still available to women in the UK via the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF)," the analyst noted.

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