What has SMC said?
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has not recommended serplulimab used together with the chemotherapy medicines carboplatin and etoposide for the first-line treatment of adults with a type of lung cancer called extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC).
This document summarises the SMC decision and what it means for patients.
You can find more detailed information about the SMC assessment of serplulimab by looking at the SMC Detailed Advice Document (SMC2840).
What does SMC’s decision mean for patients?
Serplulimab for use as described above should not normally be prescribed on the NHS in Scotland. Your healthcare professional should talk with you about other treatment options.
If your healthcare professional thinks you would benefit from it, they can make a request to prescribe serplulimab. All health boards have procedures in place to consider these requests.
You can find more information about making decisions about your treatment here: Medicines in Scotland: What’s the right treatment for me?
More about SMC’s decision
SMC was unable to accept serplulimab as described above for routine use. The company's evidence of the medicine’s value for money was not strong enough. This was despite using a more flexible approach* in the assessment as it is for a rare condition, where patients taking current treatments are likely to live less than 3 years
How does SMC make its decision?
SMC carefully considers every new medicine to make sure it benefits patients and is likely to be a good use of NHS resources.
To do this SMC studies the following:
- Evidence from the company about how well the medicine works compared with current treatments available in Scotland, in relation to how much they will cost to buy and use to treat patients.
- Information from patient groups about the potential impact of the medicine on patients and carers.
- Advice from healthcare professionals about any benefits of the new medicine compared to current treatment, along with how the new medicine is likely to be used.
When SMC assesses a medicine it takes account of the needs of all patients in NHSScotland, not only those who may be treated with the medicine.
You can find out more about how SMC decides here: https://www.scottishmedicines.org.uk/how-we-decide/
More information and support
The organisation below can provide more information and support for people living with lung cancer and their families. SMC is not responsible for the content of any information provided by external organisations.
Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation
0800 358 7200
You can find out more about serplulimab (brand name: Hetronifly®) in the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) by searching for the medicine name on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) website.
https://products.mhra.gov.uk/