NICE has ruled that the combination of inavolisib with palbociclib and fulvestrant cannot be recommended for NHS patients in England because the price does not meet its threshold for approval.
The UK’s medicines watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), has decided that the three-drug combination of inavolisib with palbociclib and fulvestrant — a regimen for hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative, PIK3CA-mutated locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer — will not be made available on the NHS. The reason given is cost: NICE concluded it could not recommend the combination at the price currently being asked.
NICE assesses whether new treatments offer sufficient benefit relative to their cost before they can be routinely prescribed on the NHS. When a drug does not clear that bar, patients cannot access it through standard NHS prescribing, regardless of the clinical evidence behind it.
The decision means patients who might otherwise have been considered for the inavolisib combination regimen will not be able to receive it through the health service. That leaves clinicians and patients relying on existing approved treatments instead.
The rejected regimen targets hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative, PIK3CA-mutated locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, and the combination was developed by manufacturer Roche. Whether Roche intends to resubmit with a revised price is not yet known.
—
*Anyone with questions about breast cancer treatment options should speak to their GP or oncology team. NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day for general health queries.*
Source: @bmj_latest