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news.UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has rejected Roche’s Perjeta treatment for breast cancer claiming that it is pricey and would not offer value for money.
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NICE said in draft guidance that the breast cancer drug pertuzumab could not be recommended to treat HER2-positive breast cancer due to uncertainties over its long-term health benefits.
Roche developed Pertuzumab for use in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and docetaxe, which is a type of chemotherapy, to shrink the breast cancer prior to surgery.
NICE CEO Andrew Dillon said: "In order to be able to recommend pertuzumab as an addition to trastuzumab and chemotherapy, the committee needed to have more evidence of its long-term clinical benefits, particularly its impact on overall survival.
"On the basis of the evidence presented, the committee was very unsure about the extent of these benefits.
"Taking all the uncertainties around the clinical effectiveness of pertuzumab into account, as well as uncertainties with the economic data presented by the company, the committee concluded that it could not recommend the drug for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer before surgery as a good use of NHS resources."
The committee noted that the drug lacked long-term evidence when compared with other treatments used before breast cancer surgery.
Pertuzumab treatment costs in ranges from £7,185 for three cycles of treatment to £16,765 for six cycles of treatment while the pertuzumab costs £2,395 per 420mg vial.