Three cancer drugs and eczema medication approved for use by NHS Scotland

Three cancer drugs and a new eczema medication are among the pharmaceuticals that a medical body has accepted for use by NHS Scotland.

On Monday, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) said it had accepted five out of six newly-licensed medicines under consideration.

The treatments given the nod include osimertinib, also known as Tagrisso, for treating adults with some instances of lung cancer, and a drug called acalabrutinib (Calquence), for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia who have not yet received treatment.

The third cancer drug that has been accepted is pembrolizumab (Keytruda), for use in combination with chemoradiotherapy to treat patients with locally advanced cervical cancer.

Alongside these, the SMC gave the nod to sotatercept (Winrevair) – to improve exercise capacity in adults with a condition called pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) – as well as nemolizumab (Nemluvio), for treating people aged 12 and older with a type of eczema.

However, the SMC did not approve an endometrial cancer drug called dostarlimab (Jemperli), due to concerns around its cost-effectiveness.

SMC chair, Professor Scott Muir said: “The committee is pleased to be able to accept these new medicines for use by NHS Scotland.

“Osimertinib offers the potential to delay the progression of disease in patients with certain types of advanced, non-small cell, lung cancer.

“Pembrolizumab used together with chemoradiotherapy offers improved survival outcomes for patients with locally advanced cervical cancer.

“Sotatercept offers a new treatment option for PAH that can help reduce the burden of symptoms.

“Nemolizumab provides another treatment option for atopic dermatitis which may allow some patients to better manage their condition.

“The committee was unable to accept dostarlimab for the treatment of this group of patients with endometrial cancer.

“The company’s evidence around the cost effectiveness of the treatment was not sufficient.

“We would welcome a resubmission from the company addressing the issues we have raised.”

The SMC is the national source of advice on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of all new medicines for NHS Scotland, with the aim of ensuring people in Scotland have timely access to beneficial new medicines.

Members of the SMC committee make their decisions based on a broad range of evidence in order to help health professionals deliver the best possible care within the resources available.