NICE rejects Polivy + bendamustine + rituximab combination to treat diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Roche

In draft guidance, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) rejected Roche's Polivy combination (polatuzumab vedotin + bendamustine + rituximab) based on uncertainties in the long-term evidence. The new combination received a conditional approval in Europe in January 2020 to treat diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients who are ineligible for a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The patients currently have no standard treatment in the U.K., NICE says, though the combination of of Rituxan and bendamustine is one option. The addition of Polivy to those two medicines allows patients "more time before their disease gets worse” than those on Rituxan and bendamustine alone, NICE concluded after reviewing the evidence. The data show it also helps patients live longer, but it it is not clear for how long. NICE noted shortfalls in long-term evidence,and said cost-efficacy estimates for the combination are “very uncertain." It did not recommend the drug for use on NHS England or the Cancer Drugs Fund.