The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7211 p204
17 August 2002

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NICE set to endorse imatinib use for all stages of chronic myeloid leukaemia

National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance on the use of imatinib (Glivec) is likely to recommend that the drug be made available to chronic myeloid leukaemia patients in all three stages of the disease — chronic, accelerated and blast.

Provisional guidance issued in May (PJ, 18 May, p675) recommended that the drug should only be available to patients in the accelerated phase. However, following consultation and after further clinical trial evidence was submitted to NICE, the appraisal committee has changed its recommendations.

The final appraisal indicates that imatinib will be recommended as a treatment option for adults with chronic-phase CML who are Philadelphia-chromosome positive and who are intolerant of interferon-alpha or in whom interferon-alpha treatment has failed. The guidance is also likely to recommend use of imatinib for the treatment of adults with Philadelphia-chromosome positive CML in the accelerated phase or blast crisis provided they have not received imatinib previously.

The final appraisal, which is available in full on the NICE website (www.nice.org.uk), has been sent to consultees who have until 27 August to appeal against it.