15.06.12
NICE rejects ‘expensive’ skin cancer drug
A drug that extends life for cancer patients has been provisionally rejected for approval by NICE. The organisation has issued draft guidance that does not recommend the drug Zelboraf, also known as vemurafenib.
The drug is used for malignant melanoma, and could extend life from around 9.6 months to over 13 months, the producers Roche suggest.
Roche has agreed an undisclosed discount for the NHS, but NICE considers the drug too expensive. It would cost around £1,750 per patient per week.
Sir Andrew Dillon, chief executive of Nice said: “We need to be sure that new treatments provide sufficient benefits to patients to justify the significant cost the NHS is being asked to pay. Vemurafenib is an expensive drug and its long term benefits are difficult to quantify.”
Gill Nuttall, CEO and founder of melanoma support group Factor 50, said: “This is another truly devastating blow to all melanoma patients and their families, many of whom are very young and with young families.
“Standard treatments that have been available since the 1970s are ineffective and to deny this drug to patients, is tantamount to passing them a death sentence.
“I am astonished and deeply worried that Nice has not given approval to yet another drug which will significantly alter the lives of melanoma patients. The patients I represent have vowed that again, they will not take this decision lightly.”
The guidance is now open to consultation.
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