Cost regulators have issued a preliminary rejection of Janssen Cilag’s Velcade (bortezomib) for certain patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM), asking for more data comparing its drug to standard treatment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued draft guidance turning down the first-line use of Velcade in patients with the blood cancer, after uncertainties in the data led an independent appraisal committee to conclude that its cost per QALY would likely “substantially” exceed £39,000. Nevertheless, it also agreed that treatment with Velcade and dexamethasone was associated with statistically significant improvements in post-induction overall response rates compared with vincristine, adriamycin and dexamethasone, while induction treatment with Velcade, thalidomide and dexamethasone boosted overall response rates and progression-free survival compared with thalidomide and dexamethasone.
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