More NICE rejections, for Roche's Avastin and Herceptin and GlaxoSmithKline's Tyverb

UK drugs watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued final guidance to the National Health Service in England and Wales on the use of Swiss pharmaceutical major Roche’s (ROG: VX) Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with chemotherapy (oxaliplatin and either fluorouracil or capecitabine) for treating metastatic colorectal cancer declining to recommend bevacizumab.

NICE Chief Executive Sir Andrew Dillon said: "We have recommended several treatments for various stages of colorectal cancer, including cetuximab for the first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. The evidence we reviewed for bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy suggests that patients receiving it for colorectal cancer may on average live for six weeks longer than patients receiving standard chemotherapy and a placebo. We know how important this could be to patients and we are disappointed not to able to recommend this drug combination, but we have to be confident that its benefits justify its considerable cost."

The agency said it held two consultations on draft decisions on bevacizumab for metastatic colorectal cancer, inviting the manufacturer and other stakeholders to submit further information in support of the product for this indication. No new information or opinion submitted during either consultation provided evidence to enable the committee to recommend the drug. A final appraisal determination was published in November. No appeals were received from the manufacturer or other stakeholders.