After two months of not issuing guidance due to the UK’s General Election, NICE has today published a host of new recommendations for a number of drugs.

New draft guidance focuses heavily on recommending more options for treating ankylosing spondylitis – a type of inflammatory arthritis that affects the spine. 

NICE previously recommended AbbVie’s Humira, Pfizer’s Enbrel and MSD’s Simponi, its new draft guidance now also recommends UCB’s Cimzia as an additional treatment option. 

Non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis is also covered by the draft guidance and Humira, Cimzia and Enbrel are provisionally recommended as treatment options for adults with this condition. 

Consultation on the recommendation is open on this draft guidance until Tuesday 16 June 2015, further details and quotes available on the NICE website.

Meanwhile, Novartis’ Cosentyx is also recommended as an option for treating some adults with plaque psoriasis if they are unable to take standard systemic therapies, and if the drug is provided with the agreed patient access scheme discount. 

AstraZeneca’s Moventig has also gained a recommendation for treating opioid-induced constipation in adults whose symptoms have not adequately responded to laxatives. 

Both pieces of final draft guidance are now with consultees, who have the opportunity to appeal.