December 2022 decisions news release

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), which advises on newly-licensed medicines for use by NHSScotland, has today (Monday 12 December) published advice on four new medicines.

Abemaciclib (Versenios®) was accepted for patients with early breast cancer with a high chance of recurrence.

Micronised progesterone (Utrogestan®) was accepted for use with oestrogen in post-menopausal women as Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

Upadacitinib (Rinvoq®) was accepted as a treatment option for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis when other treatments have not controlled the condition well enough.

The Committee was unable to accept alpelisib (Piqray®) as a treatment for postmenopausal women, and men, with advanced breast cancer, as there was uncertainty around its clinical and cost-effectiveness.  

SMC chairman Mark MacGregor said: “We were able to accept abemaciclib as an additional treatment for early breast cancer as it may reduce the risk of disease recurrence by 6% at 3 years. It is hoped that will lead to improved survival, but that remains uncertain.

“The addition of micronised progesterone will provide a further option in the range of treatments that can be prescribed with regard to HRT.

“We were unable to accept alpelisib as the evidence provided was not strong enough to satisfy the committee. The clinical evidence was very limited for the proposed use of the medicine, leaving significant uncertainty that it offers value for money for NHSScotland.”