UK’s NICE recommends Zytiga prostate cancer drug

The decision follows the submission of new evidence on the drug’s benefits.

Last December, the agency turned down Zytiga for patients whose chemotherapy is not yet indicated after initial data submitted by Janssen failed to demonstrate quality of life and long-term survival.

The company has however submitted extra data from a large group of patients treated with Zytiga in the US, which demonstrated that 14% were still taking the drug after 4.4 years.

The appraisal committee was concerned on whether the results could be generalized to the UK, but they recognized that the additional data supported the case for some patients taking Zytiga for long periods of time.

The current list price of Zytiga is £2,930 for 120 tablets and NICE said the price was expected to fall to £2,300 by the time its final guidance was published.

Janssen has also agreed to rebate the cost of any tablets required beyond 10 months of treatment.

NICE director of the centre for health technology evaluation Carole Longson said: "I am very pleased that the new evidence submitted has meant we are able to recommend abiraterone.

"There are few treatments available for patients at this stage of prostate cancer so this is very good news."

The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, which discovered the drug, has welcomed the news.

The ICR chief executive Paul Workman said: "This is a big victory for men in England with prostate cancer, and means they will finally catch up with the US, Europe and indeed Scotland in being able to access abiraterone earlier in the course of treatment."

Image: Abiraterone, a drug used to treat advanced prostate cancer was discovered and developed at the ICR. Photo: courtesy of Jan Chlebik for the ICR, 2014.