NICE backs NHS use of Nexavar for liver cancer, moving it away from CDF funding

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has today released a Final Appraisal Document (FAD) recommending Nexavar (sorafenib) for use on NHS England for the treatment of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have a Child-Pugh grade A liver impairment and who have failed or are unsuitable for surgical or loco-regional therapies.

Nexavar is marketed by German pharma major Bayer (BAYN: DE). According to the medicines cost-effectiveness watch, sorafenib is recommended to be taken twice a day, and at the list price, this equates to £128 ($166) per day per patient. Bayer has agreed a commercial access agreement with NHS England that provides the drug at a confidential discounted price, the NICE noted. It is estimated that sorafenib extends life by at least three months. It works by stopping the proteins on the surface of cells to inhibit the growth of tumors.

“We welcome NICE’s decision to recommend access to sorafenib in England. Treatment options for patients with advanced liver cancer have been very limited, but this decision will make sorafenib, which is currently the only approved pharmacological option for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, more easily available and bring greater long-term certainty for patients. Evidence shows that outcomes for people with advanced liver cancer are particularly poor, so any increase in length of life is very important.” said Andrew Langford, chief executive of the British Liver Trust quoted by Bayer.