UK's NICE does not recommend Pfizer's Xiapex for Dupuytren's contracture

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is consulting on provisional recommendations on a treatment for Dupuytren’s contracture, a condition where fingers gradually bend in towards the palm of the hand and cannot be straightened.

The appraisal committee has assessed the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of US pharma giant Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) Xiapex (collagenase clostridium histolyticum) to treat the condition in adults, and the draft guidance proposes to not recommend the drug for this use.

Adults who are currently undergoing National Health Service treatment with Xiapex for Dupuytren’s contracture should be able to continue treatment until they and their clinician decide to stop. Xiapex is given as an injection into the collagen cord. The collagenase enzymes in the treatment break down the collagen fibers which weakens the cords, and then a procedure to extend the finger can be performed.