New Asthma Drug Denied To People With Asthma In Northern Ireland

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 10 Apr 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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Asthma UK Northern Ireland is calling on Health and Social Services Boards to implement official guidance on a new drug for people with severe allergic asthma as a matter of urgency as there are concerns that applications for funding for the drug are being turned down.

The approval of Omalizumab (Xolair) across Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK has been heralded by Asthma UK Northern Ireland as a victory for people with the most severe type of allergic asthma, who struggle to do even simple daily tasks like cleaning the house or climbing the stairs. Asthma UK Northern Ireland campaigned vigorously for Xolair to be approved. It is estimated that the treatment would benefit around 200 people with asthma in Northern Ireland.

Asthma UK Northern Ireland is extremely concerned that applications by clinicians for funding for the life-changing drug are routinely being turned down by Health and Social Service Boards, which are obliged, according to official guidance, to begin funding the treatment within three months of the approval date (28 February 2008). The treatment has been available to people with asthma on the NHS in England, Scotland and Wales since late 2007.

Sharon Carlisle, from Bangor, who has severe allergic asthma, says: 'As a young mum with severe asthma, access to a drug like Xolair could be a lifeline for me as it's sometimes almost impossible to do jobs around the home and look after my family. If this drug should be available to people like me and could change my life, then why is there a delay? Why can't people with asthma start benefiting from it now?'

Around 150,000 people in Northern Ireland currently live with asthma, many of them able to control their condition using existing asthma drugs and have a symptom free lifestyle. However, there are some people with severe, allergic asthma who experience numerous emergency hospital admissions throughout the year and for whom existing drugs do not help control their asthma effectively. For these people, Xolair could offer hope of a life free from debilitating breathlessness.

Dr Liam Heaney from Belfast City Hospital says: 'This is a new therapy which will benefit a small number of patients with severe, allergic asthma that does not respond to other treatments. To date, applications which have been made to Health Boards for individual patients with severe asthma, have met with little progress in achieving access to a therapeutic trial with this drug. This has been very frustrating for these patients. It is also significant that the access criteria applied by NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) will exclude many people with severe, allergic asthma, who take their medicines as prescribed and self-manage their severe condition expertly, but who might otherwise potentially benefit from this treatment'.

Claire Armstrong, Director of Asthma UK Northern Ireland, says: 'Asthma UK Northern Ireland campaigned hard for Xolair to be made available through health services and we are determined to ensure that people with asthma have access to the drug as soon as possible.

'Xolair is a drug that can, literally, transform the lives of people with severe, allergic asthma. It will give them the opportunity to do the everyday activities that have always been a struggle or sometimes impossible, such as going to work, taking a holiday, having a night out or just walking to the shops without constant fear that their next asthma attack could be fatal. This treatment really can mean the difference between a life worth living and having no quality of life at all.'

Notes

1. Omalizumab (Xolair) was licensed for use in the UK in 2005 and is given as an 'add-on therapy' in a fortnightly injection for people with severe, persistent and allergic asthma.

2. Asthma UK is the charity dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the 5.2 million people in the UK whose lives are affected by asthma. Asthma UK Northern Ireland is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the 150,000 people in Northern Ireland whose lives are affected by asthma.

3. For up-to-date news on asthma, information and publications, visit the Asthma UK website http://www.asthma.org.uk.

4. For independent and confidential advice on asthma, call the Asthma UK Adviceline, which is staffed by asthma nurse specialists. It is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm on 08457 01 02 03. Or email an asthma nurse at http://www.asthma.org.uk/adviceline.

http://www.asthma.org.uk

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