More than 7,000 people in England will now be able
to access to a life-extending treatment
for advanced bowel cancer after NICE gave the drug
the green light.
NICE has today (Wednesday, 24 December) published final draft
guidance recommending bevacizumab with chemotherapy for people
with metastatic colorectal cancer.
This is the first time NICE has been able to recommend
bevacizumab for colorectal cancer, following the
availability of
lower-cost biosimilar versions of the
medicine.
Around 35,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer in
England each year. Nearly 10,000 of those will have
metastatic colorectal cancer, where the disease has spread to
other parts of the body.
How the treatment works
Bevacizumab – also known by the brand name Avastin – is a
targeted treatment that prevents tumours from growing. It is
given as an infusion once every two or three weeks
alongside chemotherapy.
Clinical trial evidence shows that when bevacizumab is
added to chemotherapy, it extends the time before cancer
progresses and increases overall survival compared with
chemotherapy alone:
- People having bevacizumab plus chemotherapy lived
without their cancer worsening for 9.4 months on average,
compared to 8 months for those having chemotherapy only.
- Overall survival was 21.3 months compared to 19.9 months for
chemotherapy alone.
The treatment is available as both a first and second-line option
when targeted treatments or immunotherapy are unsuitable,
offering a new choice for patients who would otherwise only
receive chemotherapy.
New approach speeds up access
NICE previously could not recommend bevacizumab for colorectal
cancer because the branded version of the
medicine (Avastin) did not represent value
for money for the NHS. However, the availability of more
affordable biosimilar versions enabled NICE to conduct a new
cost-effectiveness review.
This review was done under NICE's Whole Lifecycle
Approach to guidance development. The evaluation tested a
simplified process to develop the
recommendation. NICE's whole lifecycle approach is
a commitment in the Government's 10-Year Health Plan to
continuously review priority clinical pathways, ensuring patients
receive the best possible care while the NHS spends wisely.
Helen Knight, director
of medicines evaluation at NICE,
said: "Assessing the cost-effectiveness of
biosimilar medicines is an important step for NICE, allowing us
to quickly get effective treatments to patients while
ensuring the NHS gets the best value for money.
"Our Whole Lifecycle Approach means that in cases like this where
more affordable versions of treatments become available, we can
swiftly re-evaluate medicines that we previously couldn't
recommend. This benefits patients and an effective
version of a drug being available at a lower cost is
good news for the NHS."
Mark Samuels, Chief Executive of Medicines UK,
which represents off-patent generic and biosimilar
medicine suppliers, said:
“I am delighted that NICE has recommended bevacizumab for
advanced bowel cancer because it will help more patients
to benefit from this life-extending treatment. I also
welcome NICE's use of a new value‑for‑money process that enables
quicker decision-making, as demonstrated in this case.
NICE has a vital role in reassessing treatments as more
affordable off-patent biosimilar and generic medicines reshape
how we evaluate costs and benefits. With many of the NHS's most
expensive medicines being biologics, biosimilars will play an
increasingly important role in expanding patient access
to proven therapies.”
Minister for Women's Health and Mental Health, ,
said:
"This is excellent news for the thousands of people living with
advanced bowel cancer who will now have access to this
life-extending treatment.
“The approval demonstrates our commitment to getting
patients faster access to
treatments and I'm pleased that NICE's new Whole
Lifecycle Approach is already delivering results.
“Our 10-Year Health Plan is about getting patients the best
possible care, faster. This decision shows what that looks like
in practice."
Available now
The treatment is available in the NHS from today.
Read the full final draft guidance for
bevacizumab (Avastin and biosimilars) with fluoropyrimidine-based
chemotherapy for untreated metastatic colorectal
cancer.
Notes to editors
What is a biosimilar?
A biosimilar is a biologic medical product that is almost
an identical copy of an original product manufactured by a
different company.
About the evaluation
NICE's assessments of branded medicines are usually funded by the
companies that produce them. In this evaluation, costs were borne
by NICE as it tested a new approach under
the Whole Lifecycle Approach. Unlike typical NICE
assessments, companies producing bevacizumab biosimilars did not
need to provide an evidence submission to support the
review.
