NICE now backs Alimta maintenance therapy

In a final draft guidance, the U.K.'s NICE recommended Alimta pemetrexed from Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) as a maintenance treatment for locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in adults whose disease has not progressed following induction therapy with Alimta and cisplatin.

In 2014, NICE recommended against the therapy's use, saying its benefits did not justify its costs. In this year's reappraisal process, Lilly submitted an additional cost effectiveness analysis and agreed to undisclosed discounts. ...