Campaigners win asbestos drug fight
Campaigners win asbestos drug fight
NHS drugs advisers have reversed their proposal to block a drug for people with an asbestos-related cancer after a high profile campaign by asbestos groups and unions. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) had said Alimta (pemetrexed disodium) should be used only in new or ongoing clinical trials. But under the revised guidance, Alimta is recommended for patients who are able to carry out day-to-day tasks but whose cancer is advanced and where surgery is inappropriate. If there are no appeals against the new guidance, it will be issued to the NHS in the next few months. Mesothelioma is generally considered incurable, but the drug can help extend and improve the quality of patients' lives. Welcoming the NICE decision, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'This is a victory for all the victim support groups, parliamentarians and trade unions who have campaigned for a change of heart from NICE - but more importantly it is a victory for the patients themselves, who will now have national access to the one drug that has been shown to both extend their lives and also relieve their pain.' He added: ' We hope that all Primary Care Trusts (PTCs) will make Alimta available immediately to all mesothelioma patients who are likely to benefit from it.' Chair of the Asbestos Victims Support Groups' Forum, Tony Whitston, sai d government guidelines tell PTCs to comply 'as soon as possible' with NICE guidance. He added :'We would like to thank all those who have campaigned for this treatment for mesothelioma, a disease caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure and which was, and is, entirely preventable.'
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