From the NICE website:
“The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has today (6 December 2012) opened a consultation on draft guidance which recommends abatacept (Orencia) for rheumatoid arthritis after conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) have failed.
In August 2011, NICE issued guidance TA234 not recommending abatacept as a treatment option after conventional DMARDS, as it was not cost-effective for this use when compared to a range of alternatives including adalimumab, etanercept and certolizumab pegol which were already recommended. This new draft guidance is a rapid review of TA234 following the introduction of a patient access scheme which abatacept's manufacturer has agreed with the Department of Health.”
The rapid review was undertaken by Myfanwy Lloyd Jones, Matt Stevenson, John Stevens and Anthea Sutton within HEDS. The original manufacturers submission required the ERG to undertake lots of amendments, corrections and additional analyses, however, I can’t find the updated analyses on the NICE website – if you can, let me know!
