NICE Recommends Against Gilead's Trodelvy for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in England Due to High Cost

Compiled by Draven

Last week, NICE, the UK drug pricing watchdog, issued a draft guidance recommending rejection of Gilead’s Trodelvy for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, stating that the drug is too expensive for the UK's National Health Service.

Following the release of the draft guidance, there is a three-week public consultation period, and NICE has shifted the responsibility for lowering the price of Trodelvy to Gilead Sciences.

It is reported that, compared with chemotherapy, Trodelvy has been proven to prolong the lives of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

According to NICE estimates, 2,000 women in the UK have triple-negative breast cancer, of whom 650 are eligible to use Trodelvy after approval. For now, NICE has recommended Roche's Tecentriq in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.

Gilead expressed disappointment with this decision, stating that the UK is the only country in the ORBIS program that does not reimburse the drug.

In September 2020, Gilead Sciences acquired Immunomedics for $21 billion, gaining its drug Trodelvy, marking the largest acquisition in the pharmaceutical industry that year.

Gilead responded to this decision by stating that the company will work with NICE to address the issues raised around cost-effectiveness, aiming to reach an agreement before May 10. Moreover, the company has already presented a cost-effective case for SG reimbursement in England and expressed concerns about unnecessary delays. Regarding Trodelvy, since Scotland has already approved Trodelvy, there is a certain discrepancy between this guidance and Scottish standards.

Another decision worth noting is that NICE also rejected three atopic dermatitis drugs last week — AbbVie's Rinvoq, Pfizer's Cibinqo, and LEO Pharma's Adtralza. NICE stated that compared with other approved topical treatments (such as creams and corticosteroids), the efficacy of these drugs was uncertain and emphasized that this decision would not affect patients already being treated with these medications.

Reference Source: NICE tells Gilead to cut Trodelvy's price and rejects eczema meds from AbbVie, Pfizer and Leo