NICE recommends against Erbitux

The U.K.'s NICE issued a preliminary appraisal recommending against the use of Erbitux cetuximab from Merck KGaA (Xetra:MRK) as first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. NICE said the manufacturer's best-case scenario showed that the incremental costs per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained with Erbitux compared with chemotherapy regimens were above the range normally considered appropriate for cost effectiveness. For example, Erbitux's incremental cost per QALY gained would be L35,000 ($64,500) vs. FOLFIRI (5-FU, leucovorin and irinotecan) and L41,000 ($75,600) vs. FOLFOX (5-FU, leucovorin and oxaliplatin).

NICE also expressed concern over the lack of data on rates of curative resection of liver metastases following treatment with Erbitux and the duration of treatment necessary to achieve curative resection. Comments are due by Oct. 15. The chimeric mAb against EGFR is marketed by ImClone (NASDAQ:IMCL) and Bristol-Myers (NYSE:BMY) in North America and by Merck elsewhere. The appraisal can be found at http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/index.jsp?action=article&o=42073 ...