NICE says 'no' to B-MS' Opdivo in NSCLC

US pharma major Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today confirmed a decision from the UK cost-effectiveness watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) that could deny National Health Service patients with the most common form of lung canceraccess to Opdivo (nivolumab).

In draft guidance for consultation, nivolumab has not been recommended for use in adults with locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has progressed after prior chemotherapy. Unless this decision is reversed, NHS patients will not be able to receive treatment with nivolumab, the first major treatment innovation in relapsed metastatic lung cancer for 20 years - nivolumab is the only immunotherapy that has demonstrated superior overall survival compared to standard of care and is approved for use in Europe.

In 2012, almost 44,500 people in the UK were diagnosed with lung cancer . With UK survival rates lagging behind those of some other European countries and around 80% of those diagnosed with advanced disease dying within one year , the outlook for these patients is poor.