NICE Rejects Novo Nordisk’s Weight-Management Drug Saxenda

The National Institutes for Healthcare Excellence (NICE) recommended against Novo Nordisk’s weight management drug Saxenda (liraglutide) for NHS coverage in England.

Novo Nordisk’s evidence of Saxenda’s cost-effectiveness didn’t cover the whole population under its marketing authorization. The drugmaker only had evidence showing the drug was cost-effective for patients at high risk of injury from obesity, NICE said.

Due to uncertainty in clinical evidence even in the high-risk patients, NICE said the cost- effectiveness estimate is “highly uncertain” and could exceed what it considers to be an effective use of resources.