21.02.12
Wales to offer cancer drug provisionally rejected by NICE
A cancer drug that was provisionally rejected by NICE has been made available for men inWales. The All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) has made prostate cancer drug abiraterone available on the NHS, ahead of NICE’s final guidance, to be published in May.
NICE’s preliminary review announced that although the drug was clinically effective, it was too expensive to be routinely offered on the NHS. It suggested that the drug did not meet End of Life criteria, which would have relaxed rules over cost, as it would not be offered to a ‘small population’.
Cancer Research UK, which developed the drug, argued that it would only be prescribed for men after chemotherapy, meaning fewer than 7,000 would receive it. This means the drug should have been considered according to End of Life criteria, it suggested.
AWMSG did use this criteria and the drug will now be available inWalesuntil NICE releases its final decision. If abiraterone is rejected, this could override AWMSG’s decision.
Professor Peter Johnson, Cancer ResearchUK’s chief clinician, said: “We’re pleased that the AWMSG and the drug’s manufacturer, Janssen, have agreed a price that makes abiraterone available for men inWaleswho need it. But this is only guaranteed to happen for a few months until NICE release their final guidance.
“We want Janssen to lower the price of abiraterone and NICE to take another look at the way they assessed its cost effectiveness.
“The AWMSG were able to approve the drug because they used the End of Life criteria. This shows that if NICE use these criteria, they could negotiate a price that makes abiraterone cost effective for the NHS.”
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer to affect men in theUK. Abiraterone has been shown to prolong life in the post-chemotherapy treatment of some men with metastatic prostate cancer.
The Welsh government confirmed that the AWMSG had approved abiraterone for use inWales, but a spokesman added: “However, we are aware that NICE has not yet issued its final guidance and we will consider their evidence when it is published.”
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