The National Health Care Institute has advised the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) to reimburse alectinib (Alecensa®) from the basic healthcare package. This medicine can be used for certain patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The reason for this advice was the placing of the medicinal product in the so-called ‘lock procedure for expensive medicinal products’.
Current status: advisory report sent to the Minister
The National Health Care Institute has sent this advisory report to the Minister of VWS. The Minister will make the final decision on whether or not to reimburse the medicinal product from the basic healthcare package.
Alectinib is intended for people with a certain form of non-small cell lung cancer
Alectinib is the active substance. The brand name is Alecensa®. The medicinal product is a capsule that must be ingested.
The medicine can be used as an additional treatment for people with non-small cell lung cancer and a high risk of disease recurrence after surgery. These are patients with non-small cell lung cancer with specific genetic abnormalities (gene fusion with the ALK gene).
In lung cancer, there is a malignant tumour in the lungs. Overall, lung cancer can be divided into 2 forms: small cell and non-small cell. NSCLC is non-small cell lung cancer. In NSCLC, the cells usually grow slowly. The tumour may have been in the body for years before the patient is diagnosed. In half of the cases, this lung cancer has already metastasised through the lymphatic vessels or the bloodstream by the time it is detected.
Advice from the National Health Care Institute on reimbursing alectinib
The National Health Care Institute advises the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport to reimburse alectinib (Alecensa®) from the basic healthcare package. Once all study results are available, the National Health Care Institute will reassess alectinib and advise the Minister once again on its reimbursement.
More information or questions?
If you have any questions about this advice, please send your question to the National Health Care Institute via warcg@zinl.nl. If you have questions about the reimbursement of a medicinal product, the personal expenses or whether you should pay a contribution, please ask your health insurance provider.
How did the advice come about?
The Scientific Advisory Board (WAR) advises the National Health Care Institute when issuing package advice. The final decision on whether reimbursement from the basic healthcare package will be made lies with the minister.
Explanation of the package lock procedure for expensive medicinal products
The Minister has placed alectinib in the ‘lock procedure’ for expensive medicinal products for this indication. A medicinal product in this lock procedure will not be eligible for reimbursement from the basic healthcare package until:
- there is a positive recommendation from the National Health Care Institute;
- there are appropriate-use agreements in place;
- price reductions have been successfully negotiated with the marketing authorisation holder.
For more information, see the page ‘Lock procedure for expensive medicinal products’.