Lockerbie bomber’s cancer drug is approved in England

Today’s Wed announcement comes days after the manufacturer of abiraterone acetate, or Zytiga, confirmed it had re-submitted its application to the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), as revealed by The Scotsman in March.

The SMC rejected Janssen’s original application, deeming the drug for advanced stages of the cancer was too expensive at £3,000 for a month’s supply.

However, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) said it had approved abiraterone south of the Border after the firm cut the price.

It is understood this was also included in Janssen’s revised offer to the SMC.

The drug can extend the lives of men with late-stage prostate cancer by more than three months and has been linked by a prostate specialist to Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi having outlived his three-month prognosis by more than two years.

An SMC spokesman said it hoped the re-submitted application would “address the issues” when it rejected the original one in March, and would announce its decision in August.

Borders SNP MSP Christine Grahame, who has been lobbied by constituents seeking the drug, said: “If the cost has been cut, that’s very helpful. I hope the SMC will look at this very positively. It may very well be that it makes a similar decision.”

Nice chief executive Sir Andrew Dillon said: “During the consultation on the draft guidance, Janssen submitted further information for the committee to consider.

“This included a revised patient access scheme, which involves providing the drug to the NHS at a discounted price, further information on which patients would benefit most and clarification on how many patients could receive the drug.

“These factors enabled the committee to revise its preliminary recommendation and now recommend the drug for use on the NHS.

“We are very pleased Janssen’s submission to our consultation means we are able to produce draft guidance recommending abiraterone – it is an effective treatment, potentially extending life by more than three months, and it also allows patients to be treated at home as it can be taken orally.”

Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “Patients will be concerned if clinical evidence has been interpreted very differently in Scotland and other parts of the UK.

“There is always a balance to be struck between costs and clinical efficacy, but we need reassurance that the SNP’s cuts are not now influencing decisions.”

The Prostate Cancer Charity also called for the drug to be approved across the UK. Chief executive Owen Sharp said: “We are delighted Nice has overturned its earlier decision after reviewing the evidence. We are also pleased that the manufacturer responded to our call to deliver a further reduction in price.

“We need to see every man who needs this drug receive it on the NHS, regardless of where they live in the UK.”

Professor Alan Ashworth, chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research, said: “We are delighted by today’s decision.

“In clinical trials of men with advanced prostate cancer who have already tried chemotherapy, it has been shown to extend life by an average of four months and improve quality of life.”

AN SMC spokesman said: “We are hopeful this submission will address the issues that we outlined when the medicine was not recommended in March.”

A Janssen spokeswoman said: “We continue to explore options to show the value of Zytiga.”

Each year, about 37,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer and 10,000 die from the disease.