SMC publishes a Collaborative Advice Document for treatments for COVID-19

SMC has published a Collaborative Advice Document and recommendations are aligned with the NICE guidance for the Multiple Technology Appraisal (MTA), TA878: casirivimab plus imdevimab, nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir, sotrovimab and tocilizumab for treating COVID-19.

Three medicines have been accepted for use in NHSScotland for patients with COVID-19; nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (Paxlovid®), sotrovimab (Xevudy®) and tocilizumab (RoActemra®).

Casirivimab plus imdevimab (Ronapreve®) was not recommended for use in NHSScotland for the treatment of acute COVID-19 infection. The combination is unlikely to be effective at treating severe COVID-19 and it is not possible to reliably estimate the cost effectiveness.  

SMC chairman Mark MacGregor said: “This first collaboration between NICE and SMC brings a way of assessing the clinical and cost effectiveness of COVID treatments UK-wide on a scale that has not been done anywhere else in the world. In accepting these treatments we have been able to strike a good balance between their effectiveness and best value for money for the NHS.

The final guidance means that most adults in NHSScotland at high risk of severe COVID-19 will have access to clinically and cost effective treatments.”  

You can find the NICE final guidance here:  Overview | Casirivimab plus imdevimab, nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir, sotrovimab and tocilizumab for treating COVID-19 | Guidance | NICE

Please note that the expected date for publication of NICE MTA, molnupiravir, remdesivir and tixagevimab plus cilgavimab for treating COVID-19 is to be confirmed; Project information | Molnupiravir, remdesivir and tixagevimab plus cilgavimab for treating COVID-19 [ID6261] | Guidance | NICE