Background
Boehringer Ingelheim was invited to submit evidence for this single technology appraisal for afatinib in November 2016.
The company's main clinical trial (LUX-LUNG 8) to support the appraisal compared afatinib with erlotinib for treating locally advanced or metastatic squamous non-small-cell lung cancer progressing on or after platinum-based chemotherapy, irrespective of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (EGFR-TK) mutation status. At the time the trial was carried out, NICE recommended erlotinib for this patient population. NICE then updated the erlotinib guidance, recommending erlotinib after platinum-based chemotherapy only for a small group of patients with EGFR-TK mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer.
Because the NICE recommendation for erlotinib has changed, and given the resources and time involved in a NICE technology appraisal, the company felt that it would not be of value to submit evidence for this appraisal.
NICE has therefore terminated this single technology appraisal.