Macmillan Cancer Support Responds To The News That NICE Will No Longer Have The Power To Ban Drugs On The NHS, UK

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 02 Nov 2010 - 2:00 PDT


Responding to the news that NICE will no longer have the power to ban drugs on the National Health Service, Mike Hobday, Head of Policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said:

'NICE has performed a really important role for the NHS. Having a body that can say 'no' to pharmaceutical companies has been crucial in driving the price of drugs down, so that the NHS can afford to support patients more often. But NICE has too often misread the public mood in rejecting clinically effective drugs for rare cancers. It has placed insufficient weight on the importance of allowing the NHS to give patients with rare cancers the drugs that their doctors believe will extend or improve the quality of their lives.

'We are talking to the Government to ensure that, when NICE is reformed, the NHS will provide all cancer patients with access to clinically effective drugs recommended by their doctors.'

Source:
Macmillan Cancer Support

• Additional
• References
• Citations