NICE Recommends Eribulin

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended eribulin, for the treatment of patients with locally advanced breast cancer or breast cancer that has spread despite having at least two prior chemotherapy treatments. In a 2012 guidance, NICE did not recommend the drug for approval. However, upon examining new evidence, NICE said the drug should be an option for patients with breast cancer.

“When we first looked at eribulin in 2012, there wasn’t enough evidence of its clinical effectiveness compared with current standard treatments to be able to recommend it as a cost effective use of NHS resources,” said Carole Longson, director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation at NICE, in a statement. “For this appraisal we’ve been able to consider updated results from the trial used in the original guidance that show women taking eribulin lived on average almost three months longer compared with women taking other treatments. We’ve also been able to take into account the results for health-related quality-of-life from another trial that compared eribulin with capecitabine. This new evidence, together with the discount available through the patient access scheme, enabled the appraisal committee to conclude that erubilin represents good value for money.”

Longson said that NICE provisionally recommends the drug, and hopes that it will assist in expanding the life expectancy of those diagnosed with breast cancer. Erubilin is marketed by Eisai in the United Kingdom.