NICE draft guidance recommends Ferring's Firmagon for prostate cancer

15 April 2014

In final draft guidance published today, the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended Firmagon (degarelix) from privately-held Swiss company Ferring Pharmaceuticals for treating advanced hormone dependent prostate cancer in people with spinal metastases who present with signs or symptoms of spinal cord compression.

More than 37,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in England and Wales. Carole Longson, director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation at NICE, said: “Degarelix is a hormone therapy drug that provides an important benefit for people with cancer that has spread to the spine and presents with signs or symptoms of spinal cord compression. We are pleased to be able to recommend degarelix as a treatment option in this population.”

The draft guidance is now out for consultation. Until NICE issues final guidance, NHS bodies should make decisions locally on the funding of specific treatments.

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