Velcade bortezomib regulatory update
A panel from the U.K.'s NICE will meet on Nov. 15 to hear an appeal from Johnson & Johnson on an August final appraisal determination (FAD) covering the use of the company's Velcade bortezomib for multiple myeloma (MM). The FAD recommended Velcade in combination with an alkylating agent and a corticosteroid when a patient is unable to tolerate or has contraindications to thalidomide from Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ:CELG, Summit, N.J.), or when high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplantation is considered inappropriate. In its appraisal, the committee concluded that the Velcade combination was not cost-effective when compared with the thalidomide combination, and was only cost-effective where thalidomide was not appropriate (see BioCentury, Aug. 30). ...