UK'S NICE RECOMMENDS AGAINST TWO CANCER DRUGS

The UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) does not believe that two cancer drugs, Roche Products' Avastin and Merck Pharmaceuticals' Erbitux, should be used in treating metastatic colorectal cancer, a recent draft report says.

NICE -- a public health organization that services England and Wales -- concludes in its final draft guidance that Avastin (bevacizumab) causes more adverse events than other treatments and Erbitux (cetuximab) is less cost effective than other treatments.

The document is currently being reviewed by outside parties, who have until Sept. 5 to appeal this guidance. The draft guidance is available at www.nice.org.uk/download.aspx?o=353402 (http://www.nice.org.uk/download.aspx?o=353402).