UK NICE changes guidance and now recommends Zytiga (abiraterone) for some prostate cancer- Janssen

NICE has issued final guidance recommending Zytiga (abiraterone) from Janssen for some prostate cancer patients. Specifically, abiraterone in combination with prednisone or prednisolone is recommended, within its marketing authorisation, as an option for treating metastatic hormone-relapsed prostate cancer in people who have no or mild symptoms after androgen deprivation therapy has failed, and before chemotherapy is indicated, and only when the company rebates the drug cost of abiraterone from the 11th month until the end of treatment for people who remain on treatment for more than 10 months. This is a change from the appraisal committee’s previous draft guidance decision.

Initial evidence submitted by the manufacturer to NICE failed to demonstrate the quality of life and long-term survival for patients receiving abiraterone, meaning NICE could not recommend the drug as indicated. When requested, Janssen submitted new evidence focusing on a large group of patients treated with abiraterone in the USA. The data showed that 14% of the patients were still taking abiraterone after 4.4 years. The appraisal committee expressed some concerns about whether these results could be generalised to the UK, but they recognised that the new data supported the case for some patients taking abiraterone for long periods of time. As such the committee has now concluded that abiraterone is a cost-effective treatment option.