Echo (KC) 26-Aug-08
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Backlash over axe for specialist drugs cash
By Steve Hackwell »
THE wife of a kidney cancer sufferer says plans to withdraw funding for specialist drugs puts a price on patients’ lives.
Irene Welch of The Copse, Billericay, has been backed by leading cancer experts, who accused Nice, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence, of forcing patients to remortgage their homes to afford treatments freely available in Europe.
Mrs Welch’s husband, John, was diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer five years ago.
She says the drug he uses, Sutent, has changed his life dramatically. His tumours have shrunk and his quality of life has improved tremendously.
But, earlier this month, Nice withdraw funding for the drug and three others on the grounds they were too expensive.
That decision has now been heavily criticised by a group of 26 oncologists, who called for a “radical change” in how such judgments are made.
Mrs Welch said: “The calculations used by Nice seem quite bizarre, as are the figures they have produced for the cost of Sutent.
“Pfizer, the drug manufacturer, is willing to negotiate the price, but it appears Nice is not prepared to enter into negotiations.
“Just imagine, you or your loved one are told you have terminal cancer. Your life is turned upside down. You know there is a drug that could give you time and quality to the life you have left, but unless you are very rich, you will not be given this chance. How would that make you feel?”
Although Nice withdrew funding for Sutent earlier this month, John is one of the lucky ones who will be able to continue his treatment.
The boost it has given him is sufficient for Nice to deem him one of those for whom the drug is “working”.
Nice claimed supplying Sutent on the NHS costs £27,000 per patient a year, and that makes it poor value for money.
Andrew Dillon, chief executive of Nice, said: “We have made it possible for thousands of cancer patients to receive treatment when, without our guidance, they would almost certainly have not.”
Mr Dillon said for the argument to maintain credibility experts should explain which patients with other diseases should forgo cost-effective care in order to meet the needs of those with renal cancer
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