NICE again rejects Takeda's Hodgkin's lymphoma drug in draft guidance

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published draft guidance not recommending Japanese drugmaker Takeda’s (TYO: 5402) Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) to treat some patients with Hodgkin’s lymphoma on the UK's National Health Service (NHS).

Although the guidance from the cost-effectiveness watchdog does not constitute a final verdict, and will be open to public consultation, the initial decision will be a blow to the Japanese company, though the treatment remains available through the UK’s Cancer Drugs Fund for two out of the three indications the NICE is appraising.

A preliminary recommendation not to recommend brentuximab vedotin for routine use was published in NICE draft guidance in August 2016, after which Takeda  expressed its dissapointment at the cost watchdog's negative stance on what it sees as a game changer in the treatment of relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma.