The National Health Care Institute has advised the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) to reimburse tislelizumab (Tevimbra®) from the basic health insurance package after price negotiations. This medicine can be used for certain patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. The reason for this advice was the placing of the medicinal product in the so-called ‘lock procedure for expensive medicinal products’.
Current state of affairs: advice sent to the Minister
The National Health Care Institute has sent this advice to the Minister of VWS. The Minister makes the final decision whether or not to reimburse the medicinal product from the basic health insurance package.
Tislelizumab is intended for certain people with non-small cell lung cancer
Tislelizumab is the active substance. The brand name is Tevimbra®. The medicine is administered by injection.
This medicine can be used as palliative treatment for certain people with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Palliative treatment is the care of a sick person who can no longer be cured. Lung cancer involves a malignant tumour in the lungs. We can divide lung cancer into 2 types: small cell and non-small cell. NSCLC is non-small cell lung cancer: with this type of lung cancer the cells usually grow slowly. The tumour may have been present in the body for years before it is detected. In locally advanced cancer, the cancer has usually spread through the lymphatic vessels or blood and is no longer curable. In half of the cases, NSCLC has metastasised when it is discovered. Metastatic means that tumours have grown in other organs outside the lungs.
The National Health Care Institute advice on the reimbursement of tislelizumab
The National Health Care Institute advises the Minister of VWS to reimburse tislelizumab (Tevimbra®) from the basic health insurance package after price negotiations.
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 Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) asks the National Health Care Institute to carry out an assessment. The Minister makes the final decision whether or not to reimburse the medicinal product from the basic health insurance package.
Explanation of the package lock procedure for expensive medicinal products
The Minister has placed tislelizumab 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 health insurance package until:
- there is a positive package advice from the National Health Care Institute;
- there are arrangements and safeguards for appropriateness 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’.