NICE rejects three expensive leukaemia drugs

It follows the previous banning of Avastin which was alternately offered by some private medical insurance (PMI) and cash plan providers. With the government targeting £20bn of savings within the NHS, spending on expensive procedures and drugs has been under threat. In its draft guidance, Nice has not recommended dasatinib, high-dose imatinib or nilotinib for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) that is resistant to standard-dose imatinib. Both dasatinib and nilotinib cost in excess of £30,000 per patient per year, while Novartis (who also produces nilotinib) has recent...