NICE issues draft guidance for use of tixagevimab-cilgavimab (Evusheld®) for prevention of COVID-19

Draft recommendation published on the use of tixagevimab-cilgavimab (Evusheld®) for prevention of COVID-19

Draft guidance for public consultation has been published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for tixagevimab-cilgavimab (Evusheld®) for prevention of COVID-19.

The draft guidance for the single technology appraisal (STA) says there is no evidence that tixagevimab-cilgavimab (Evusheld®) is effective in protecting vulnerable adults against current COVID-19 variants and therefore cannot recommend its use.

NICE and the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC, as part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland) agreed to maintain the collaboration that started through the Research to Access Pathway for Investigational Drugs for COVID-19 (RAPID C-19) by collaborating on the NICE STA. SMC has had direct input into the decision-making committee that produced the draft guidance. The final published advice will have the same status for health board consideration as other SMC advice on new medicines.

NICE and the SMC will continue to work together on any updates to this STA after publication.

NICE has also announced that it is developing a new rapid surveillance and evaluation process for COVID-19 treatments so that they can be made available more quickly if they show promise against new variants.

The draft guidance is open for public consultation until 9 March 2023. Anyone with an interest in this topic is encouraged to send their comments on the draft recommendation. Visit the NICE website to access the draft recommendation and to comment: Consultation | Tixagevimab plus cilgavimab for preventing COVID-19 [ID6136] | Guidance | NICE