UK's NICE plans to back NHS use of two breakthrough skin cancer treatments

The UK’s drugs watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)  this morning (November 2) issued new final draft guidance recommending two new treatments for advanced malignant melanoma: US drug major Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) Yervoy (ipilimumab) and Switzerland-based Roche’s (ROG: SIX) Zelboraf (vemurafenib).

Yervoy is recommended for National Health Service use in the treatment of advanced malignant melanoma in people who have received prior chemotherapy, and Zelboraf for the treatment of unresectable locally advanced or metastatic BRAF V600 mutation-positive melanoma. Both treatments are recommended on the basis that the manufacturers provide them with a discount, as agreed in separate patient access schemes for each appraisal.

Commenting on the final draft guidance, Carole Longson, Health Technology Evaluation Centre Director at NICE said: “Advanced melanoma can significantly affect patients’ quality of life and without effective new therapies, the prognosis for advanced disease is very poor. For many years the treatments available for this condition have been very limited and in some cases restricted to palliative care. However, there are now a number of new treatments being developed and vemurafenib and ipilimumab are the first two that NICE has been asked to review.”