17 June 2016 - Medicines regulator NICE moves at record speed to approve nivolumab for use with ipilimumab in melanoma patients.

A combination of two immunotherapy drugs for advanced skin cancer has been approved for general use in the NHS, raising hopes that the deadly disease will be stalled and perhaps eradicated in many more patients.

NICE has approved nivolumab for use with ipilimumab within a couple of months of the combination getting a licence. Patients with advanced melanoma in England and Wales will be the first in Europe to get it, says Nice.

“After one of the fastest drug appraisals NICE has carried out, these promising new immunotherapy treatments for advanced melanoma look set to significantly extend the life of people with the condition,” said Prof Carole Longson, director of the health technology evaluation centre at NICE.

“The evidence we examined was very promising and I know further trials are ongoing which have also released encouraging data.”

For more details, go to: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jun/17/drug-combination-skin-cancer-melanoma-approved-nhs-nivolumab-ipilimumab