New bid to get cancer drug for Scots patients

THE company behind a drug which could extend the lives of men suffering from prostate cancer has asked again for the treatment to be made available to NHS patients.

Earlier this year, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) decided abiraterone was too expensive for use on the NHS in Scotland. The drug has been linked by a prostate specialist to the prolonged life of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al- Megrahi, who has outlived his three-month prognosis by more than two years.

The Prostate Cancer Charity said a study showed the drug may extend sufferers’ lives by about three months.

Manufacturer Janssen-Cilag resubmitted the drug to the SMC, which decides which drugs should be offered on the NHS. The body is due to publish its decision in August.

The drug is available in England through the Cancer Drugs Fund, which was set up in 2010 to allow access to drugs rejected by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), or not yet licensed. It is only available until 2014 and only applies in England.

Nice is due to issue its decision on abiraterone soon.

The Scottish Tories have previously called for a Scottish cancer drugs fund to be set up for patients north of the Border.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: “This will provide some fresh hope for prostate cancer sufferers and their families, but will still be too late for many.

“If it is good enough for the Lockerbie bomber, you would think it should be good enough for men in Scotland, especially when only a few miles down the road the drug is accessible.

“If this bid is again rejected by the SMC, that will amplify the need for a cancer drugs fund, similar to that in place in England, which could help pay for medicine outwith traditional NHS budgets.

“The Scottish Conservatives would set aside an initial £10 million for this, but the SNP has repeatedly refused to bring it in.”