Charities hail drug ruling review
Updated on 29 March 2007
A host of charities have hailed a decision to review a ruling which prevented patients from obtaining a life-saving cancer drug on the NHS.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has agreed to review its own ruling, denying patients NHS access to an important drug for the treatment of myeloma - a form of bone marrow cancer.
The move comes in response to a joint appeal lodged by the cancer charities Myeloma UK, Cancerbackup and Leukaemia CARE, who argued Nice's initial rejection of Velcade was based mainly on the grounds of cost, rather than effectiveness, and that the decision was therefore "perverse and unfair", particularly as the cost of the drug was just over the £30,000 threshold for NHS drugs.
Chiefs on the Nice appeals panel have now ruled that as Velcade is the first in a new class of treatment, the Nice committee must fully explain its reasons for failing to recommend the drug as it can significantly prolong the life of patients with an incurable disease.
Myeloma patient Jacky Pickles, one of the "Velcade 3" who have been campaigning for Nice approval of the drug, said: "The entire myeloma community has been campaigning for access to Velcade for three years.
"The announcement has given us all hope that soon no patient will die of myeloma without first being given access to Velcade. If they agree to let clinicians use Velcade on the NHS, it will be like the myeloma community winning the lottery. Without it we are sentenced to death."
Eric Low, chief executive of Myeloma UK, said: "This is a promising step forward for myeloma patients. We are grateful to Nice for accepting the validity of the appeal and for having responded in a positive manner.
"We hope that further review of the evidence will mean that myeloma patients get access to what is unquestionably a clinically effective and important treatment."
Joanne Rule, chief executive of Cancerbackup, added: "There is now hope that all myeloma patients may be able to access this treatment.
"Until this new guidance is issued primary care trusts need to be reminded that they are still free to prescribe Velcade and the Government has just re-issued Health Service Circular 1999/176, which means that trusts do not need to wait for Nice guidance to give a licensed drug to patients."
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