NICE decision: Evusheld treatment not approved for NHS use in the UK
10 May. 2023On May 5th, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) confirmed their decision not to approve Evusheld for use on the NHS in the UK. This means that, currently, Evusheld will not become available on the NHS in the UK.
The reason given is that, although initial clinical trials showed promise in preventing serious Covid infections in immunocompromised and vaccine-nonresponsive people, more recent laboratory studies report that Evusheld may not effectively prevent infection with most of the variants currently circulating.
The report states
“Because of the lack of evidence of clinical effectiveness, the cost-effectiveness estimates for tixagevimab plus cilgavimab (Evusheld) are highly uncertain. They are also likely to be much higher than what NICE considers an acceptable use of NHS resources”.
MDS UK recognises that many of our members will be very disappointed with this outcome and we will be working with other Blood Cancer charities, through the Blood Cancer Alliance, to determine what can be done to improve protection for the affected groups.
*** From 14th June 2023 Evusheld is not available as a Covid treatment in Scotland. For more information click here ***
For more information
- Visit the NICE website to read more on their guidance Tixagevimab plus cilgavimab for preventing COVID-19
- Follow this link to read a the Final Appraisal Determination Document from NICE
- Read more about Evusheld on the Leukaemia Care Blog The latest on Evusheld, a COVID-19 preventative treatment
- Find more information about Evusheld from Blood Cancer UK: Evusheld Decision leaves blood cancer community disappointed