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Speed up
drug process plea
Approval for cancer drug a
‘no brainer’
A CANCER specialist has told government health minister Patricia
Hewitt and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice)
to speed up vital drugs testing systems.
Alison Jones, consultant oncologist at the Royal Free and
chairman of the North London Cancer Network, consults with the
Whittington, UCL and Royal Free hospitals and the Camden PCT
over the use of Herceptin – an expensive but potentially
life saving breast cancer drug.
She said there could be 20 patients a year in the borough eligible
for treatment with the drug, which has made national headlines
after cancer ptients applied to the courts to insist their health
authorities funded treatment.
Nice have yet to give the drug the all clear for all sufferers
– despite it being prescribed in certain cases.
The Hampstead hospital’s doctor said the decision to approve
Herceptin – described by manufacturers Roche as a “wonder
drug” – to Camden patients was a “no-brainer”.
Her views come as Camden Primary Care Trust is considering whether
to prescribe to two local cancer sufferers Herceptin.
Herceptin is used as a last resort for patients whose cancer
has spread or has had a recurrence – but it is not licensed
for the early stages of breast cancer treatment, although research
showing it can halve the cancer returning in one in five women.
Patients must be undergoing chemotherapy, have a healthy heart
and have the aggressive HER2 cancer before a hospital can apply
to the PCT for funding.
However, PCTs will not commission Herceptin until Nice which
determines if drugs are cost-effective, gives the green light
for the £25,000 per patient drug programme.
Ms Jones, who has worked at the Royal Free Hospital and UCLH
for 13 years, has now joined other health experts in urging
Nice to speed up its appraisal.
She said: “Nice is too slow. Part of the problem is they
have a huge workload and it is important to test drugs thoroughly.
“Will it pass the test? Yes. That is a no-brainer.”
Nice has promised to speed up their approval process in the
future following criticism from cancer sufferers but do not
expect to reach their decision on Herceptin until September.
Some health experts believe that even if Nice approve early
treatment cash-strapped PCTs will still not be able to foot
the bill.
Ms Jones said the PCT could find money for Herceptin if they
budgeted properly.
She said: “It’s a big problem because the PCTs do
not have an infinite supply of money and the PCTs will be obliged
to find the funds.”
PCTs are under pressure from patients to snub Nice considerations
after health secretary Patricia Hewitt gave consent for a PCT
in Stoke to use Herceptin without Nice approval. |
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