NICE approves Kymriah for use in adults following commercial agreement with NHS England
Kymriah was previously approved for patients under the age of 25 with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Kymriah® (tisagenlecleucel) has been approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for use in adults with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who have not responded to two or more other treatments. Kymriah was previously indicated for patients under the age of 25 with refractory, in relapse post-transplant or in second or later relapse B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Read more: Kymriah is first CAR-T therapy to be made available on the NHS >>
DLBCL is a very aggressive blood cancer with limited treatment options for those that relapse. For the majority of patients who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant, survival rates are low.
In the ongoing JULIET trial, Kymriah was demonstrated to enhance survival, with a 64% relapse-free probability and a 43% probability of overall survival at 18 months in patients with relapsed/refractory disease. The JULIET trial involves patients across 27 sites and although median duration of response was not reached at time of analysis, showed prolonged response in 99 patients who has previously been treated with chemotherapy and stem cell transplant.
“We’re very pleased that this ground-breaking CAR-T cell therapy will now be available on the NHS for some people with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. This is really good news for people affected by this type of lymphoma who, until now, have faced limited treatment options. The news offers patients and their families faced with a poor prognosis a more hopeful outlook” said Ropinder Gill, Chief Executive of Lymphoma Action.
Source: Novartis press release