Three drugs to treat ulcerative colitis, a chronic bowel condition, have not been proven to be more cost effective than current available treatments, doctors are being told.

NICE says in draft guidance that infliximab, adalimumab and golimumab should not be recommended for routine use in the NHS to treat moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.

An estimated 146,000 people in the UK live with ulcerative colitis, a chronic condition in which the large intestine becomes inflamed. Symptoms vary, but may include bloody diarrhoea, abdominal pain, weight loss, fatigue and an urgent need to go to the lavatory.

Professor Carole Longson, NICE Health Technology Evaluation Centre Director, said: “The independent committee concluded that there is currently not enough evidence to prove that infliximab, adalimumab and golimumab is clinically and cost effective compared with other treatments currently available to ulcerative colitis patients on the NHS.

“NICE has now opened a consultation on the draft guideline for infliximab, adalimumab and golimumab, and welcomes the manufacturer and stakeholders to comment on the recommendations and if possible provide more information which could potentially enable NICE to make more positive recommendations.”

For more details, go to: https://www.nice.org.uk/news/press-and-media/nice-consultation-drugs-for-chronic-bowel-condition