The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a Final Appraisal Document recommending carfilzomib in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (KRd) for the treatment of multiple myeloma in adults after one previous therapy which included bortezomib.

The NICE decision to recommend KRd is based on clinical evidence from the Phase 3 ASPIRE trial in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma who had received one to three prior treatments.

Amgen has agreed a commercial arrangement with the NHS to make the KRd recommendation available.

Effective combination therapies are required for patients when they relapse or become refractory to their current treatment.

For several years, Amgen has worked collaboratively with NICE and other stakeholders, including clinicians and patient advocacy groups, to help overcome the barriers that can prevent access to combination therapies for patients with serious diseases such as multiple myeloma.

Dr. Tony Patrikios, executive medical director at Amgen UK and Ireland said: “The relapsing-remitting nature of multiple myeloma can be psychologically very difficult for patients. Working collaboratively with our partners in the NHS and patient advocacy groups, there has been a strong tenacity to make this treatment combination cost effective and available to patients with multiple myeloma. We welcome this recommendation from NICE which provides another treatment option for patients whose disease has relapsed.”

Multiple myeloma is a complex disease that is characterised by periods of remission and relapse.

Approximately 5,700 people in the UK are diagnosed with this incurable disease annually with multiple myeloma accounting for 15% of blood cancers and two per cent of all cancers in the UK3.

Laura Kerby, chief executive of Myeloma UK said: “This approval is great news for the myeloma community, and we are delighted with the decision. Myeloma is an incurable and very individual cancer and this decision means more patients can benefit from the better responses to treatment at an early stage that a triplet regimen can offer. The NICE decision also means that, regardless of where they live in the UK, patients now have equal access to the treatment they need and want. Myeloma UK is committed to ensuring that patients benefit from the latest therapies like triplets, and this is the most recent example of how our approach to partnership working makes that a reality.”

The NICE Final Appraisal Document was published on 19th March but will not become NICE Guidance for the NHS in England and Wales until 28th April 2021.

Source: Amgen