Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal College of Nursing on the use of nirolumab and ipilimumab to treat skin cancer.

George Freeman

We have had no such discussions.

Nivolumab (Opdivo) in combination with ipilimumab (Yervoy) does not currently have a marketing authorisation in the United Kingdom for treating advanced or unresectable melanoma.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising nivolumab in combination with ipilimumab for the treatment of advanced, unresectable melanoma. NICE currently expects to publish final guidance in September 2016.

In the absence of guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund new medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence.