Janssen Cilag’s Velcade NICE rejection is ‘disappointing’

Cancerbackup, a cancer information charity, has described NICE’s decision not to recommend Velcade, the Janssen-Cilag drug, for the treatment of multiple myeloma as “desperately disappointing”.

Despite having marketing approval, NICE said the drug should only be recommended in well-designed clinical trials that focus on the drug “in the pathway of care” for comparing it with other treatments that are used in clinical practice.

NICE said its recommendation was due to a number of concerns, including the lack of clarity and detail in the reporting of a clinical trial and questions over the manufacturer’s cost effectiveness calculations.

However, Cancerbackup has said that previous clinical trials have demonstrated the drug’s effectiveness and that the drug should have been approved for use in the NHS.

Joanne Rule, Cancerbackup’s chief executive, stated: “NICE’s initial decision not to recommend Velcade is desperately disappointing for patients with multiple myeloma.

“Trials of the drug carried out so far have shown it to be effective. In a small phase II study, ten per cent of those taking Velcade showed the myeloma had either disappeared or nearly disappeared.”

She concluded: “We urge NICE to give a positive final decision.”

Cancer Research UK estimates that six in 100,000 men and 4 in 100,000 women are diagnosed with multiple myeloma each year, resulting in approximately 3,700 new cases each year. The disease, which forms in bone marrow, is rare in under-40s and is also twice as common in black populations, the charity said.

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