NICE Recommends Janssen’s Tremfya for Active Psoriatic Arthritis

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended Janssen’s Tremfya (guselkumab) alone or in combination with methotrexate for National Health Service (NHS) use in the treatment of adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis who have had an inadequate response or have been intolerant to a prior disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD).

The recommendation was based on clinical evidence that Tremfya is effective compared with placebo. However, the agency noted that Tremfya, a biological DMARD, has not been compared directly with other biological DMARDs for treating psoriatic arthritis.

NICE said it considers Tremfya’s cost-effectiveness estimates to be within an acceptable range for use of NHS resources.

The recommended dose of Tremfya is 100 mg by subcutaneous injection at weeks 0 and 4, followed by a maintenance dose every 8 weeks. The listed price of a 100 mg pre-filled disposable injection is approximately $2,700. The negotiated price for NHS use was not disclosed.