Novartis breast cancer drug Afinitor not cost effective for NHS, says draft NICE guidance

Swiss drug major Novartis’ (NOVN: VX) breast cancer drug Afinitor (everolimus) is not recommended as a National Health Service-funded treatment for a type of advanced breast cancer because it is not good value for money, says the latest draft guidance issued this morning (July 8) by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

The NICE is currently assessing everolimus (in combination with the drug exemestane) as a treatment for HER2 negative, hormone-receptor-positive advanced breast cancer for a particular group of postmenopausal women. Despite not recommending the treatment, the draft guidance goes on to say that women who are already receiving everolimus should continue with the treatment until they and their doctor thinks it is appropriate to stop.

Sir Andrew Dillon, the NICE’s Chief Executive, said: “We are committed to making sure the NHS provides the treatments that can make the greatest difference to people’s lives….Unfortunately, while the evidence presented to the independent Appraisal Committee suggested that everolimus with exemestane could delay the growth and spread of breast cancer by four to five months, the evidence did not allow the Committee to establish how long everolimus could actually extend a person’s life for, compared with exemestane alone. Using the evidence available, the committee concluded that everolimus is not a cost-effective treatment option for the NHS. We are disappointed that the evidence for everolimus isn’t stronger, especially as we acknowledge that the drug could represent a new way of treating HER2 negative, hormone-receptor-positive advanced breast cancer by restoring a tumour’s sensitivity to hormone therapy.”