KEETCH TROUBLED BY N.I.C.E. ANNOUNCEMENT NOT TO APPROVE LIFE-PROLONGING CANCER DRUG

4.50.07pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 24th Jul 2006

Velcade could help to prolong life for two or three years

Following recent concern over the prescription of life saving cancer drugs in Herefordshire, local MP, Paul Keetch is troubled by an announcement by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) that it will not approve the cancer drug Velcade for prescription on the NHS.

This comes as a blow to myeloma sufferers' in England, as Velcade is prescribed freely in Scotland and Wales, to those patients with this type of cancer.

NICE Appraisal Committee's preliminary recommendations released today state that Velcade is 'not recommended for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma except for use in well-designed clinical studies…' Final guidance is due in September, after consultation. However, if the decision remains it will result in the immediate and effective removal of Velcade as a treatment option for myeloma patients in the NHS in England.

Commenting on this decision, Mr Keetch said:

"This decision makes a mockery of NICE guidance - to have certain drugs available in Wales but not in England is ludicrous. How on earth do I explain this situation to my constituents who are suffering from cancer?

"It is over nine months since I tackled the Health Secretary in the Commons over the availability of Velcade. She assured me that NICE would look into the case but this recent decision will be a body blow to myeloma sufferers throughout England.

"Cancer is a national killer, with an estimated one in three people being diagnosed with the disease at some stage in their life. To deny drugs to sufferers' just because they don't live in the right area is appalling. The Government needs to address the issue of post-code prescribing - everybody should have an equal right to life and equal right to care and treatment. Again, I shall be raising this decision with the Health Secretary."