UK's Health Agency Endorses Pfizer's Blood Cancer Combo Therapy As First For Untreated Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients

The U.K’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on Wednesday recommended Pfizer Inc’s PFE Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) for adult patients with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma.

The recommendation covers brentuximab vedotin in combination with other therapies for routine National Health Service (NHS) use.

Around 800 people annually with previously untreated stage 3 or 4 CD30-positive Hodgkin lymphoma could benefit from this treatment, which combines brentuximab vedotin with doxorubicin, dacarbazine, and vinblastine.

Also Read: Pfizer Shares Are Down Today: What’s Going On?

NICE says this marks the first recommendation specifically for previously untreated late-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma and follows an improved confidential discount to the NHS on the treatment’s list price offered by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd TAK.

Clinical evidence from the ECHELON-1 trial showed that brentuximab combination therapy significantly delays disease progression and prolongs survival compared to standard chemotherapy regimens.

The trial demonstrated impressive overall survival rates. Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer that affects cells in the lymphatic system. Advanced (stage 3 and 4) CD30-positive Hodgkin lymphoma most commonly affects younger adults aged 20 to 24 years and older adults aged 75 to 79 years.

NICE recommendation means the treatment will be available immediately through the Cancer Drugs Fund, with interim funding provided until routine commissioning begins.

On Tuesday, the European Commission issued a decision amending the marketing authorization for Pfizer’s Abrysvo, the company’s bivalent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prefusion F (RSVpreF) vaccine, to extend the indication to include prevention of lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) caused by RSV in individuals 18 through 59 years of age.

The approval is based on results from the pivotal phase 3 MONeT trial.

Price Action: PFE stock is up 0.35% at $24.63 at the last check on Wednesday.

Read Next:

• Tariffs Could Shake Building Industry: Homebuilders, Plumbing, Flooring Face Rising Costs

Photo via Shutterstock