Osimertinib (Tagrisso)

Key Messages

• Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA-AMC) recommends that Tagrisso in combination with pemetrexed and platinum-based chemotherapy should be reimbursed by public drug plans for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced (not amenable to curative therapies) or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) which harbours epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletions (Ex19del) or exon 21 (L858R) substitution mutations if certain conditions are met.
• Tagrisso plus chemotherapy should only be covered to treat adult patients (aged ≥ 18 years) who have nonsquamous NSCLC; whose tumours have spread to other parts of the body, returned after treatment, or cannot be removed by surgery or radiation; whose tumours harbour EGFR Ex19del or L858R substitution mutations; and who are in relatively good health. Tagrisso should not be covered to treat patients who have a history of breathing difficulties caused by scarring and inflammation in the lung tissue; who have a history of heart problems associated with their heart taking longer to recharge between beats or their heart beating too fast, too slow, or in an irregular way; or, who have already been treated for NSCLC with treatments affecting their entire body (except for treatments given at least 6 months before the tumour returned, as a first step to shrink a tumour before the primary treatment, or as an additional treatment after the primary treatment to lower the risk of the tumour returning).
• Tagrisso should only be reimbursed if it is prescribed in combination with pemetrexed and platinum-based (i.e., cisplatin or carboplatin) chemotherapy by clinicians with expertise in treating NSCLC, and the cost of Tagrisso is reduced. Reimbursement of Tagrisso plus chemotherapy should be discontinued if a patient’s cancer grows or spreads, or if treatment is unacceptably toxic to the patient.