NICE recommends Afinitor for second-line RCC

In draft guidance issued Wednesday, the U.K.’s NICE recommended that Afinitor everolimus from Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN) be routinely available on the NHS to treat advanced renal cell carcinoma that progressed during or after treatment with VEGF-targeted therapy. Previously, the drug was available in the U.K. only through the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF).

The new guidance reverses the committee’s 2011 recommendation against Afinitor's use in the second-line RCC setting. NICE is reappraising drugs in the CDF in connection with the fund’s relaunch in July 2016 (see BioCentury Extra, July 29, 2016)...