Reaction to Erbitux and Avastin Appraisals by NICE
I haven’t yet read the appraisals of these two drugs by NICE. I’ve just read the reactions to the decisions of NICE to recommend that NHS not reimburse for either drug in colon cancer based on cost-effectiveness arguments. If this article is accurate the bases for the decisions were the lack of ICE (incremental cost-effectiveness) data based on head to head studies against exisiting (read chaper) therapies. The reason for this note is simply to point you to the blog entry I posted on the main page in May describing NICE’s preliminary appraisal of Exubera, which was given a similar decision. Pharmaceutical innovators are in a difficult position from a development risk:reward perspective when it comes to NICE and other agencies that use strict ICE criteria for reimbursement decisions. Until/unless U.S. and other key EU purchasers adopt these strict criteria, the risk:reward balance will continue to favor conservative development testing for ICE, meaning avoidance of head to head studies against cheap existing therapies whenever possible. More on this later.
