UK NICE partially backs Bayer's Xofigo in preliminary assessment

UK health costs watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have recommended German pharma major Bayer’s (BAYN: DE) Xofigo (radium 223 dichloride) in their preliminary Appraisal Consultation Document (ACD), partially reversing a  negative decision earlier this year.

The recommendation is for National Health Service use in patients who have previously received docetaxel for their metastatic castration-resistant (hormone resistant) prostate cancer. However, Bayer is disappointed that NICE has not recommended use of Xofigo in men who are not suitable for docetaxel. In such men, there are no approved treatment options leaving them with no active treatment, the company noted.

Radium 223 dichloride solution for injection has been licensed in the UK since January 2014 for the treatment of adults with castration-resistant prostate cancer, symptomatic bone metastases and no known visceral metastases. Radium 223 dichloride is the first in class alpha-emitter with the potential to provide a new standard of care for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer with bone metastases. NICE have recognised that bone metastases can be very distressing for patients and their families, having a profound impact on patients’ quality of life and that radium-223 dichloride offers a step change in this group of patients.