NICE recommends Lenvima in new setting

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on Thursday recommended routine National Health Service (NHS) funding for first-line treatment with Lenvima (lenvatinib) in adults with untreated, advanced, unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

The NICE’s final appraisal document recommends using the oral receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor in these HCC patients in England and Wales who have Child-Pugh grade A liver impairment and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1.

Lenvima, which is being developed by Japanese drugmaker Eisai (TYO: 4523) in partnership with US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK), is the first new, approved first-line treatment for advanced or unresectable HCC in a decade to show an overall survival treatment effect that was non-inferior to the current standard of care, which is Bayer’s (BAYN: DE) Nexavar (sorafenib).