Archived: azacitidine (Vidaza)

Advice

Following a full submission 

azacitidine (Vidaza ®) is not recommended for use within NHS Scotland. 

Licensed indication under review: the treatment of adult patients who are not eligible for haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT) with intermediate-2 and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) or acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).  

Azacitidine therapy produced a significant increase in overall survival compared with conventional care regimens in previously untreated higher-risk MDS patients.  

However, the manufacturer did not present a sufficiently robust economic analysis and their justification for the treatment’s cost in relation to its health benefits was not sufficient to gain acceptance by SMC.