Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) Tecvayli (teclistamab) has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to treat relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) in adults.
The final draft guidance applies to RRMM patients in England and Wales who have received at least three lines of therapy, including an immunomodulatory drug, a proteasome inhibitor and an anti-CD38 antibody, and have progressed on their last treatment.
NICE’s latest decision updates its positive but restricted draft guidance on Tecvayli in July, which limited the use of the drug to patients who would otherwise be offered pomalidomide plus dexamethasone (pom-dex).
The restriction has been lifted following further consultation with stakeholders and a second appraisal committee meeting, which highlighted the critical unmet need in patients for whom pom-dex is not a treatment option, J&J outlined.
Data showed that RRMM patients who received Tecvayli after three prior therapies had an overall response rate of 63%, a median overall survival of 22.2 months, and a median progression-free survival of 11.4 months.
Further data comparing Tecvayli to pom-dex also concluded that J&J’s therapy decreased the risk of disease progression or death by 44% and extended median time to next treatment by 5.36 months
Approximately 5,900 people are diagnosed in the UK every year with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer that affects a type of white blood cell called plasma cells.
The majority of patients will relapse and require subsequent therapy, with efficacy declining after each line of treatment.
Administered as a subcutaneous injection, Tecvayli is a bispecific antibody that works by redirecting T cells to multiple myeloma cells and helping to destroy them. The drug has already been accepted by the Scottish Medicines Consortium for the same RRMM patient population without the pom-dex restriction.
Roz Bekker, managing director, J&J Innovative Medicine UK and Ireland, said: “[This] decision enables patients in England and Wales to access the same treatments as patients in Scotland and is an excellent example of how cross-stakeholder collaboration can truly achieve positive results in advancing patient equity.”