Patients with multiple myeloma will not get routine access to Celgene’s Imnovid (pomalidomide) on the National Health Service, cost regulators have now confirmed.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published final guidance rejecting the drug for treating multiple myeloma after third or subsequent relapse, because analyses from Celgene “showed that it does not offer enough benefit to justify its high price”.
Patients in England still have the chance of treatment with Imnovid through the Cancer Drugs Fund, though this option is not available to those living in Wales.
Meanwhile, patients with type II diabetes will be able to get treatment with Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance (empagliflozin) on the NHS.
The Institute has now published final guidance endorsing the sodium glucose co-transporter inhibitor as an option for lowering blood glucose.
Funding for Norgine’s Targaxan (rifaximin) as a treatment option for preventing recurrent episodes of overt hepatic encephalopathy in adults has also been approved.
The brain condition, which is caused by liver failure, affects around 12,000 people in England.
