
Astellas and Pfizer Bladder Cancer Therapy Recommended by UK’s NICE
Key Takeaways
- NICE's guidance endorses enfortumab vedotin with pembrolizumab for first-line treatment of advanced urothelial cancer, improving survival outcomes.
- The EV-302 trial showed a median overall survival of 33.8 months with the combination therapy versus 15.9 months with chemotherapy.
The decision was based on results of a Phase III trial that showed a median overall survival of 33.8 months with enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab versus 15.9 with platinum-based chemotherapy.
The United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued final guidance recommending the reimbursement of
Trial results show promise
According to a press release from Astellas, the designation stands to substantially increase overall survival rates for patients with bladder cancer in England and Wales.
“The guidance from NICE is excellent news for patients,” Timir Patel, MD, medical director, Astellas UK, said in the release (1). “Advanced bladder cancer is in an area where there is a real unmet need. This combination therapy changes the standard of care for doctors and their patients.”
NICE’s decision was based on results of a Phase III trial (EV-302), for which researchers observed a median overall survival of 33.8 months with enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab versus 15.9 with platinum-based chemotherapy, with respective median progression-free survival times of 12.5 and 6.3 months, representing a 55% reduction in the risk of cancer progression or death in the combination arm (1).
"Prior to the EV-302 clinical trial, the treatment of advanced bladder cancer treatment hadn’t significantly changed since the 1980s,”
Treatments developing for bladder cancer
Bladder cancer represents 3% of all cancer deaths in the UK, according to Astellas, with 5600 deaths attributed to the disease annually (1). The company said that only 29% of patients with stage IV bladder cancer survive more than a year after diagnosis.
In April 2024,
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
NICE’s final guidance for enfortumab vedotin in combination with pembrolizumab followed approvals for the same indication in December 2023 by FDA and August 2024 by the European Commission (1).
Other Astellas activity
In February 2025, Astellas Pharma announced that
More recently, Brandon Carr, head of downstream process development, gene therapy research operations with Astellas, discussed the unique challenges of downstream processing of adeno-associated viral vectors
The partnership between Astellas and Pfizer additionally includes
Finally, Astellas Pharma is
References
1. Astellas. NICE Guidance Ushers in New Era for Metastatic Bladder Cancer Therapy. Press Release. Aug. 21, 2025.
2. Haigney, S.
3. Johnson & Johnson.
4. Astellas Pharma.
5. Challener, C. A.
6. Haigney, S.
7. Cole, C.
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