NICE green light for Stivarga in mCRC

UK medicines cost watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended Stivarga (regorafenib), from German pharma major Bayer (BAYN: DE), as a treatment option for adult patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have had previous treatment (including fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy, anti-VEGF therapy and anti-EGFR therapy) or when these treatments are unsuitable.

This adds to the NICE approval for National Health Service (NHS) use of Stivarga for patients with unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) in 2017. Stivarga is Bayer’s top selling cancer drug and recorded global sales of 458 million euros ($499 million) in the first nine months of 2022.

Bayer is counting on its growing oncology business to deliver one third of the $30 billion in pharmaceuticals sales it has committed to generating by 2030.