Vol. 5 No. 8 (2025)
Reimbursement Reviews

Nivolumab

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Published August 5, 2025

Key Messages

  • Reimbursement reviews of drugs later in the life cycle include a comprehensive assessment of clinical value, unmet clinical need, distinct social and ethical considerations, economic considerations, and impacts on the health systems.
  • The assessments inform nonbinding recommendations that help guide the reimbursement decisions of Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial drug plans and cancer agencies.
  • This review assesses nivolumab, 10 mg nivolumab/mL, 40 mg and 100 mg single-use vials, IV infusion with doxorubicin (Adriamycin), 10 mg, 50 mg, and 150 mg vials, IV infusion; vinblastine, 1 mg/mL sterile solution, IV infusion; dacarbazine, 600 mg/vial, sterile powder for solution, IV infusion.
  • Indication under consideration for reimbursement: Nivolumab in combination with doxorubicin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (AVD) for the first-line treatment of stage III and stage IV classic Hodgkin lymphoma in patients aged 12 years and older.