NICE makes U-turn on Janssen’s prostate cancer drug

Due to a price drop, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has agreed that Janssen’s prostate cancer drug, abiraterone is now affordable, going back on its previous decision

NICE had previously said that the treatment was not cost-effective for the NHS until cancers were more advanced, reported the BBC, but now the pharma company has lowered the price of the drug.

Abiraterone (Zytiga) is a hormone therapy which stops more testosterone from reaching the prostate gland to stifle the tumour and is already used at the end of prostate cancer treatment, after chemotherapy, to give terminal patients an extra few months.

NICE said new evidence submitted by Janssen means it can offer the drug to more patients - those with spreading prostate cancer who have only mild symptoms and who have not responded to androgen deprivation therapy and have not yet been offered chemotherapy.

It is estimated that due to the change in NICE’s decision 5,900 people with this category of prostate cancer might be eligible each year in England, reported the BBC.

The drug originally cost £3,000 for a month’s treatment but the new price for the drug on the NHS in England is £2,300 for 120 tablets, which is 30 days' supply.

Under the agreed discount, the NHS pays for the first 10 months of treatment with abiraterone. For people who remain on treatment for more than 10 months, Janssen will rebate the drug cost of abiraterone from the 11th month until the end of treatment, reported the BBC.

Heather Blake, from Prostate Cancer UK, said to the BBC: "This long awaited decision is fantastic news and brings an end to years of uncertainty for men and their loved ones.

“After 18 months our calls have finally been heard as NICE and the manufacturer have managed to negotiate a way forward. However it cannot continue to take so ludicrously long to get men what they need.

"If the newly reformed drug appraisal process really is to work better for men, manufacturers must present best value for money first time around while greater flexibility from NICE must come as standard.

“We need to see much more focus on what patients need and deserve, otherwise men will lose out as they continue to be caught in the middle."