NICE Rejects Opdivo for Lung Cancer Patients, Citing High Cost

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says it will not recommend Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo, casting doubt on the drug’s cost-effectiveness for people with locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous, non-small-cell lung cancer after chemotherapy.

In its latest draft guidance, the UK price watchdog points out that cost-effectiveness data comparing Opdivo to best supportive care was not presented, a relevant comparison for the populations under consideration. The committee, therefore, did not see the drug’s benefit outweighing the approximate $46,191 per-treatment price and requested additional data.

Specifically, NICE notes that the key clinical effectiveness trial — CheckMate-057 — was cut short early, noting that the evidence does not support an advantage of nivolumab over docetaxel in mortality.