UK's NICE backs GlaxoSmithKline's Votrient for the first-line treatment of advanced RCC

The UK’s drug watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued the Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) recommending drug giant GlaxoSmithKline’s (LSE: GSK) Votrient (pazopanib) as a first-line treatment option for people with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have not previously received cytokine therapy and who are of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-1, on the basis that GSK provides the agreed patient access scheme.

GSK says its access scheme offers a straight discount and makes provision for a possible partial rebate to the National Health Service in the future, conditional upon the outcome of a head-to-head trial with current standard of care treatment.1

The introduction of targeted cancer therapies has transformed the management of advanced RCC. However, despite improvements in efficacy, side effects observed with available treatments to date can affect patients’ quality of life and their ability to carry out normal daily activities, says GSK. This was acknowledged by the NICE Appraisal Committee in its evaluation of evidence from the patient experts and clinicians. With only one targeted treatment option (sunitinib) recommended by NICE as a first-line treatment until now, the NICE recommendation of Votrient will offer patients and clinicians a choice of effective treatment options with different side-effect profiles.