12 June 2017 - Four new medicines accepted for routine use by NHS Scotland.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), which reviews newly licensed medicines, has published advice accepting four new medicines for routine use by NHS Scotland.

Nivolumab (Opdivo) was accepted following consideration through SMC’s Patient and Clinician Engagement (PACE) process, for medicines used at the end of life and for very rare conditions. Nivolumab is used to treat advanced renal (kidney) cancer, a terminal condition with poor prognosis. Through the PACE meeting, patient groups and clinicians highlighted that there are limited treatment options for advanced renal cancer and patients often have to stop work at a relatively early stage due to the disease itself and side effects from current treatments. Nivolumab offers the opportunity of increased overall survival and improved quality of life for patients. It is also better tolerated than other current treatments.

Cabozantinib (Cabometyx) was also accepted for the treatment of advanced renal cancer following consideration through PACE. In the PACE meeting, patient groups and clinicians spoke of how cabozantinib can increase the time until the disease progresses and extend overall survival. As an oral treatment, it also reduces the number of hospital visits patients have to make to receive treatment.

Read SMC News article