J&J appealing Velcade FAD

A panel from the U.K.'s NICE will meet on Nov. 15 to hear an appeal from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) on an August final appraisal determination 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) or 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. ...