Monday, June 04, 2007

J&J - Velcade: NICE gets money-back guarantee

Healthcare cost-effectiveness watchdog NICE has reversed an earlier ruling refusing to endorse Johnson & Johnson's cancer drug Velcade for use on the state health service after the maker offered a "money-back" deal.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said on Monday it was now recommending the £25,000 -a-year drug ($50.000), known generically as bortezomib, for the treatment of multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.

Patients who respond well to treatment will be kept on the drug but those showing a minimal or no response will be taken off treatment and the drug's costs refunded by Janssen-Cilag, the name under which J&J pharmaceuticals operates outside the United States.

Source

Insider's view: Interesting.

The devil will be in the detail.

What constitutes a response etc.

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