Bosutinib was earlier available only via the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF). It is the first drug to go through the reappraisal process, where NICE evaluates the cost and clinical effectiveness of drugs currently in the old CDF.
The current list price for bosutinib is around £45,000 per patient per year, however Pfizer is offering a discount for use in the NHS.
Bosutinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy which targets the Philadelphia abnormal chromosome that results in the excess production of white blood cells in people with CML.
The regulator originally published guidance not recommending bosutinib in November 2013.
It was then made available in the CDF. After the decision to reform the CDF, NICE started reappraising all drugs that are present in the CDF.
NICE director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation Carole Longson said: "The company positively engaged with our CDF reconsideration process and demonstrated that their drug can be cost effective, which resulted in a positive recommendation.
"This decision, when implemented, frees up funding in the CDF which can be spent on other new and innovative cancer treatments."
Pfizer UK medical director of oncology David Montgomery called the NICE’s decision great news for eligible patients.
Montgomery said: "In the era of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor therapy, the lives of people living with chronic myeloid leukaemia have been greatly improved and near normal life expectancy can be expected in the majority."
Image: UK’s NICE approves Pfizer’s Bosulif for chronic myeloid leukaemia. Photo: courtesy of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.