2 December 2020 - NICE has issued a new draft guidance, advising against the use of Roche's Tecentriq (atezolizumab) for adult patients with untreated extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer.

The guidance, which denies the therapy routine NHS coverage, indicated that the PD-L1 inhibitor "meets NICE's criteria to be considered a life-extending treatment at the end of life”, however “the cost-effectiveness estimates for Tecentriq with chemotherapy are higher than what is considered a cost-effective use of NHS resources."

The watchdog also revealed that the “long-term benefit on overall survival is uncertain", as the mean cost of a course of treatment for a patient with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer is £32,798 at the list price.

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