Posted on 05/07/2010 in Pharmaceutical Company Product News Roche and development partner Chugai have been granted a restricted National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommendation for their rheumatoid arthritis drug RoActemra (tocilizumab).
The regulatory body has recommended that a combination therapy of RoActemra and methotrexate be used in England and Wales among patients who are unable to benefit from a MabThera treatment.
This comes in response to data from clinical studies which showed the effectiveness of the Roche/Chugai treatment when compared to placebo.
Roche and Chugai are now calling on NICE to grant a wider recommendation to the drug for all patients who do not respond to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs or anti-TNF agents.
Dr Andrew Ostor, consultant rheumatologist and associate lecturer at Addenbrooke's Hospital, said: "It would be ideal to use tocilizumab across the board, as in Scotland and the rest of Europe, but as the recommendation stands it is a very encouraging step in the right direction."
This comes after a study published last month showed that RoActemra could also potentially provide benefits for systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis sufferers.Other news stories from 05/07/2010
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