Rare blood cancer treatment approved for NHS use
Scotland has become the first part of the UK to approve a new treatment for patients with a rare type of blood cancer for use on the NHS.
Scotland has become the first part of the UK to approve a new treatment for patients with a rare type of blood cancer for use on the NHS.
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) approved the treatment dasatinib - also know as Sprycel - for those suffering from chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML).
Professor Jonathan Fox, the chairman of the SMC Committee, said the decision would "offer patients and clinicians a wider range of treatment options".
Figures from the end of 2013 showed at that point 466 Scots were living with CML, with 70% of patients still alive five years after being diagnosed, if the disease has been spotted early.
Zack Pemberton-Whiteley, head of campaigns and advocacy at the charity Leukaemia CARE, said: "A diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukaemia, a rare form of blood cancer, can have a huge impact on the lives of patients and families that are affected.
"Today's decision means that patients will now have access to an effective and convenient treatment with potential to improve their daily lives.
"This recommendation from the SMC is welcome news and a positive step forward for the treatment of this disease in Scotland."
Pharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb is now urging the authorities in the rest of the UK to follow the SMC and approve the treatment.
Benjamin Hickey, the company's general manager for the UK and Ireland, said: "Bristol-Myers Squibb is dedicated to improving outcomes for cancer patients in the UK and we are delighted that the SMC has recognised the benefits that dasatinib will offer to patients in Scotland with CML.
"We remain committed to progressing research in haematology and are intently focused on ensuring that all patients who could benefit from our medicines are able to access them.
"We continue to work with reimbursement authorities in the rest of the UK to ensure this decision is replicated in England, Wales and Northern Ireland."
As well as approving dasatinib, the SMC accepted another cancer drug for use by the NHS in Scotland, giving the go-ahead for rametinib - also known as Mekinist - for patients with advanced melanoma.
The decision was made after hearing from skin cancer patients and their doctors through the Patient and Clinician Engagement Process (PACE).
But the SMC rejected a call for carfilzomib - also know as Kyprolis - for the treatment of multiple myeloma, a rare cancer of the white blood cells, as it was not satisfied that evidence of its impact on survival was strong enough to justify the cost.