Negative decisions from UK's NICE for Novartis' Xolair, GSK's Arzerra and Pfizer's Torisel, but OK for Amgen's Prolia

The UK drugs watchdog body the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said this morning that it is not recommended Swiss drug major Novartis’ (NOVN: VX) as a treatment for severely asthmatic children under the age of 12.

The NICE said it looked at whether use of the drug would be an appropriate use of National Health Service resources for children aged between six and eleven years old with severe persistent allergic asthma. Although omalizumab is recommended in specific circumstances for people aged 12 and over with this type of asthma, the evidence for this younger age group showed the drug offered limited benefits compared with currently available treatments, meaning the extra cost of the drug does not represent good value for money for the NHS, the agency concluded.

Also UK giant GlaxoSmithKline (LSE GSK) and Danish firm Genmab’s (OMX: GEN) Arzerra (ofatumumab) failed to win the backing of the NICE as a treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia that doesn’t respond to other drugs. Arzerra’s cost outweighs its benefits, the agency said today in an e-mailed statement.