Cost effectiveness of nivolumab in patients with advanced, previously treated squamous and non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer in England

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the cost effectiveness of nivolumab versus docetaxel in previously treated, advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in England and assess how conditional reimbursement within the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) can be used to ensure timely patient access to effective treatments.Methods Cost-effectiveness models developed for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) TA483 (squamous) and TA484 (non-squamous) technology appraisals were supplemented with updated overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and time-to-treatment discontinuation data collected as part of the CDF data collection agreement. Both models were developed by using a partitioned-survival approach based on PFS and OS predictions from CheckMate 017 and CheckMate 057 to estimate the projected proportion of patients in each health state (progression free, progression, death) throughout the model's time horizon. The primary outcomes were estimated costs, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and the resulting incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) expressed as cost/QALY gained.Results Base-case ICERs for treating patients with nivolumab versus docetaxel were 35,657 pound/QALY and 38,703 pound/QALY for squamous and non-squamous NSCLC patients, respectively, which are substantially lower than those obtained from what were deemed to be the most appropriate analyses for decision making in the original submissions when run with the same patient access scheme discount: 68,576 pound/QALY and 73,189 pound/QALY gained for squamous and non-squamous NSCLC, respectively.Conclusions Nivolumab versus docetaxel is cost effective for treating locally advanced/metastatic NSCLC after prior chemotherapy in adults, regardless of tumour histology or programmed death-ligand 1 expression status.