The Scottish Medicines Consortium has released advice covering several new medicines including standardised allergen extract of grass pollen (Grazax®) and buprenorphine transdermal patches (BuTrans®).
Both of these items have been rejected. Grazax® was rejected because the data presented was not "sufficiently robust economic analysis to gain acceptance". BuTrans® was rejected because the "justification of the treatment's health benefits in relation to its cost was not sufficient to gain acceptance".
As previously discussed, it is recommended that initiation and treatment with Grazax is restricted to physicians who are experienced in the treatment of allergic disease. Treatment should be started 16 weeks before the start of the grass pollen season. These recommendations regarding initiation and treatment with Grazax® will severely limit the numbers of patients who will be treated with this product this year.
Action: Clinicians should be aware of this latest advice for Grazax®. Additionally, prescribing of buprenorphine transdermal patches should be restricted to patients already on treatment and who are achieving good pain control.