Posted by Michael Wonder on 10 Dec 2018
NICE turns down Opdivo/Yervoy combo for kidney cancer
10 December 2018 - NICE has published draft guidelines rejecting NHS funds for Opdivo/Yervoy for untreated metastatic renal cell carcinoma.
Explaining the decision, the Institute said that while clinical trial evidence shows that the Opdivo (nivolumab)/Yervoy (ipilimumab) combination “is substantially more effective” than Pfizer’s sunitinib for people with untreated advanced intermediate- or poor-risk renal cell carcinoma, whether the survival benefit would be maintained in the long-term is “uncertain”.
Cost-effectiveness estimates for the therapy are higher than what NICE normally considers acceptable, despite a commercial arrangement designed to reduce the its cost to the NHS.
