Roche and Chugai granted NICE recommendation for RoActemra

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.