NICE ‘no’ for Opdivo, could deny some lung cancer patients one of the most significant advances in almost 20 years

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS0 has announced that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued draft guidance for consultation that could prevent NHS patients with a form of lung cancer, from receiving Opdivo (nivolumab). The draft decision specifically affects adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic squamous non-small cell lung (NSCLC) whose disease has progressed after prior chemotherapy. In a pivotal clinical study, treatment with nivolumab was shown to achieve significantly superior survival rates, with 42% of patients still alive at one year compared with 24% of those treated with docetaxel. If this becomes final guidance, it will mean that treatment options for these patients will remain limited to chemotherapies, such as docetaxel which was first approved for use 17 years ago. Lung cancer is one of the UK’s biggest health challenges, with survival rates that lag almost a decade behind some European countries.