NICE has issued final guidance on the use of axitinib for treating kidney cancer and sipuleucel-T for prostate cancer.

In guidance issued to the NHS today, NICE has recommended that the drug axitinib, also known as Inlyta and marketed by Pfizer, should be available as a second-line treatment for kidney cancer. In separate new guidance, NICE has not recommended sipuleucel-T, also known as Provenge and marketed by Dendreon, for the treatment of prostate cancer, because the available evidence showed that the price the NHS is being asked to pay for the drug is too high for the benefit it may provide to patients.

Commenting on the axitinib guidance, Professor Carole Longson, Health Technology Evaluation Centre Director said: “NICE has previously recommended two drugs for advanced renal cell carcinoma, sunitinib and pazopanib both as first-line treatments and we are pleased to confirm that axitinib will be made available through the NHS for patients after these first-line treatments have failed. Based on the evidence available and the discount on the cost of the drug offered by Pfizer, the committee concluded that axitinib would offer good value for NHS money.”

Commenting on the sipuleucel-T guidance Professor Longson said: “Unfortunately Dendreon has been unable to show that sipuleucel-T works better than other treatments currently available. It was also not proven to delay the progression of the disease, unlike current treatments. Based on the evidence presented, NICE is unable to recommend the NHS provides funding for this drug, as it costs too much for the extra benefit it may provide.”

For more details, go to: https://www.nice.org.uk/news/press-and-media/nice-issues-final-guidance-on-axitinib-inlyta-and-sipuleucel-t-provenge