UK NICE does not recommend use of Kadcyla (trastuzumab emtansine) for breast cancer treatment- Roche

The UK's NICE has announced that Kadcyla (trastuzumab emtansine), from Roche, is too expensive for routine funding on the NHS for breast cancer treatment. The drug, which costs around £90,000 per patient at its full list price, is licensed to treat HER2-positive breast cancer which has spread to other parts of the body, cannot be surgically removed and has stopped responding to initial treatment.

The appraisal committee looked at new data showing people taking Kadcyla could live up to 9 months longer than those taking the alternative, lapatinib plus capecitabine. It also considered a new cost-effectiveness analysis that used a revised patient access scheme which would have involved the NHS paying the list price for the first 14 months of treatment for each patient, after which the company would rebate the cost of any subsequent treatment. However, even with the patient access scheme offered by the company, the committee concluded that Kadcyla is too expensive in relation to the benefits it gives. Consultation on the draft guidance is open until 20 January 2017.