Lilly's Alimta appeal turned down by NICE committee

The Appeal Panel of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the UK body that recommends drugs for the National Health Service in England and Wales, has reiterated its earlier guidance that Eli Lilly's anticancer agent Alimta (pemetrexed) is not provided as a treatment for lung cancer. The Final Appraisal Determination means that the US firm has been unsuccessful in its appeal against the original decision (Marketletter July 10, 2006).

Commenting on the ruling, Andrew Dillion, the NICE's chief executive, said that "the independent Appraisal Committee was not persuaded that the evidence presented provided a robust demonstration of the clinical and cost effectiveness of pemetrexed, compared with either docetaxel or best supportive care and, therefore, concluded that the drug is not an effective use of NHS resources."

In a statement, reported by UK television station Channel 4, Lilly said that "clinical trial data for Alimta in second line non-small cell lung cancer that supported this NICE appraisal demonstrated that Alimta had comparable efficacy to the current standard of care."