NICE has recommended panobinostat (also known as Farydak and manufactured by Novartis) as a possible treatment for people with multiple myeloma if they have had at least two prior therapies (including bortezomib and an immunomodulatory agent). 

Panobinostat is recommended only if it is provided with the discount agreed in the patient access scheme.

The decision follows public consultation on a preliminary decision not to recommend panobinostat, with the manufacturer responding to the consultation by submitting a revised economic analysis which allowed the committee to recommend the drug.

Panobinostat is a new type of oral anti-cancer treatment that works by disrupting a key mechanism which causes normal cells to turn cancerous.

According to Cancer Research UK, in 2012 there were just over 4,000 new cases of multiple myeloma in England.

Source: NICE