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Drug Blocked for Asbestos Linked Cancer
Brigitte Chandler
Brigitte Chandler
A drug, for the asbestos linked cancer mesothelioma, has been blocked for widespread use by the NHS in England and Wales.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has decided that Alimta should only be recommended for use in new or ongoing clinical trials. NICE concluded there was not enough evidence the drug was better than cheaper treatments.
However, critics have said some patients will be left worse off. Alimta does not save a life but it can prolong the lives of mesothelioma patients and also improve the quality of the time they have left.
Professor Nick Thatcher, specialist lung consultant at the Christie Hospital NHS Trust in Manchester, said: "This decision, if upheld, will remove a very useful treatment option for patients with this resistant cancer. It is contrary to scientific evidence and is purely based on the value NICE place on a person's life."
Although use of asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999, it is predicted that 65,000 will develop mesothelioma as a result of previous exposure. There is no current cure for the disease but Alimta, known technically as pemetrexed disodium, is used to reduce symptoms. The drug costs about £8,000 for each patient.
Eli Lilly, which manufactures the drug, said it will appeal against the decision. It said it will encourage the use of other unlicensed treatments which have not been assessed for use.
Dr Joanna Nakielny, Medical Director of Lilly UK said: "This is a major blow for patients with mesothelioma, many of whom were unwittingly exposed to asbestos in their working lives."
Brigitte Chandler, a partner at law firm, Charles Lucas & Marshall and one of the UK’s leading industrial disease lawyers, indicated that in the past the courts have been willing to provide interim payments to mesothelioma sufferers to purchase the drug privately - if they wish to do so - and this is still an option.
“The treatment does not save lives but it can prolong the lives of patients and also improve the quality of the time they have left,” she said.
You can contact Brigitte Chandler on 01793 511055 or brigitte.chandler@clmlaw.co.uk
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