NICE Endorses NHS Funding for Novartis Combination Therapy for Skin Cancer

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended NHS funding for Novartis’ oral targeted adjuvant combination therapy Tafinlar and Mekinist.

The therapy is recommended for use in patients with stage 3 BRAF V600 mutation-positive melanoma whose cancer has spread to lymph vessels. No other adjuvant treatments are available for such patients.

Clinical trials showed patients taking the combination had higher relapse-free survival rates compared with patients taking the placebo. Novartis estimates about 427 individuals will be eligible for the treatment.