NICE Recommends Against NHS Funding of Ocrevus

The U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is not recommending National Health Service funding for Roche’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) for treatment of primary progressive multiple sclerosis in adults.

Clinical results show it can slow the worsening of disability in people with the condition, but NICE determined its cost was too high for NHS coverage. The drug was approved in Europe in January, making it the first medicine licensed for use in PPMS patients.

The recommendation is not intended to affect treatment with ocrelizumab that was started in the NHS before the guidance was published. The recommendation is open for comment until July 19 and the committee intends to conduct another appraisal on August 2.