Negative NICE guidance for Sanofi prostate cancer drug

The UK’s drug watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), has today published final draft guidance not recommending French drug major Sanofi’s (Euronext: SAN) Jevtana (cabazitaxel) in combination with prednisone or prednisolone as a second line treatment for prostate cancer, confirming its previous draft guidance (The Pharma Letter September 30, 2011).

Commenting on the final draft guidance, Sir Andrew Dillon, Chief Executive of the NICE, said: “We need to be sure that new treatments provide sufficient benefits to patients to justify the significant resources the [National Health Service] would need to make available. Although cabazitaxel has been shown to be effective in extending life, it is also associated with a number of side effects. The committee was concerned about the nature of the health-related quality of life information provided by the manufacturer.”

He continued: “Once these factors had been taken into account, the independent Committee appraising this drug concluded that it would not provide enough health benefit to justify its cost, which means it would not be a cost effective use of limited NHS resources.”