NICE bevacizumab FAD says 'no'

NICE's final assessment determination does not support the use of bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with chemotherapy (oxaliplatin and either 5-fluorouracil or capecitabine) for treating metastatic colorectal cancer.  This was a complex appraisal with several supplementary analyses being undertaken by ScHARR-TAG's Sophie Whyte, Abdullah Pandor, Matt Stevenson and Angie Rees.  Two of the many issues were the complexity of the patient access scheme suggested by Roche (which included an upfront payment by Roche)and the change to generic status of one of the associated drugs with price reductions in the region of 90% (but which had not made it into the BNF).  Expect more appraisals to come up against these problems.......