NICE Recommends Three Hepatitis C Drugs

The UK’s healthcare cost regulator is recommending that the National Health Service pay for three new hepatitis C drugs.

The drugs, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Daklinza (daclatasvir), Gilead Sciences’ Harvoni (ledipasvir and sofosbuvir), and AbbVie’s Viekirax (ombitasvir, paritaprevir and ritonavir) with or without Exviera (dasabuvir) are likely to be approved by the NHS following a comments period ending Aug. 19.

The cost for a 28-day treatment is $12,781 for Daklinza, $20,322 for Harvoni, $16,787 for Viekirax and $1,459 for Exviera, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which released the three draft guidances last week.

Two weeks ago, the FDA approved Daklinza.

The draft guidances on Daklinza, Harvoni, and Viekirax are available at www.fdanews.com/7-15-NICE-HepC1.pdf, www.fdanews.com/7-15-NICE-HepC2.pdf and www.fdanews.com/7-15-NICE-HepC3.pdf, respectively. — Jonathon Shacat