Johnson & Johnson myeloma drug recommended for NHS use

Teclistamab offers hope for patients exhausting treatment options

Teclistamab (Tecvayli), a drug manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, has received a positive recommendation from NICE for fourth-line use on the NHS in England and Wales.

This new treatment is for myeloma, a type of blood cancer affecting plasma cells. While most myeloma patients are men over 70, the disease can also affect younger individuals. Although treatable, myeloma currently has no cure.

From today, teclistamab is recommended for patients who have undergone at least three treatments, including an immunomodulatory drug, a proteasome inhibitor, and an anti-CD38 antibody, and whose cancer has progressed since their last treatment.

NICE had previously approved teclistamab in July, but only for patients who would have been offered pomalidomide plus dexamethasone. This was considered draft guidance. Following advocacy from Blood Cancer UK and other charities, NICE has now expanded access to all patients with triple-class refractory myeloma.

This decision aligns with the recent approval by Scotland’s SMC to use teclistamab on the NHS. Teclistamab, a bispecific monoclonal antibody administered by injection, targets cancer and immune cells, enabling the immune system to destroy them.

Guy Mainwaring, 63, from Middlewich in Cheshire, began receiving teclistamab in January 2023 after multiple previous treatments. “I was diagnosed with myeloma after having a period of prolonged acute back pain. The current treatments are hard and my myeloma kept coming back. I felt like I was exhausting my NHS treatment options, making me feel helpless, and I lost some of my natural enthusiasm.

“Then my consultant managed to get me on teclistamab, it was a complete life-changer. I felt like a switch had been flicked, I got my life back and within a couple of weeks not months, I was starting to feel so much better. From not being able to exercise properly or walk very far I’m now back playing some of the best golf I’ve ever played. I can now comfortably walk around an 18-hole course and swing a golf club that was almost impossible just two years ago. It’s so good to meet up with friends, colleagues and family again, chat and be able to look forward to the future with optimism.”