Charities have petitioned a pharmaceutical firm to cut the cost of a drug that can treat bone marrow...
Charities have petitioned a pharmaceutical firm to cut the cost of a drug that can treat bone marrow cancer, so it can be used by the NHS in England and Wales.
Myeloma UK, MacMillan Cancer Support and Leukaemia CARE have asked the manufacturer, Janssen-Cilag to adopt a similar stance on Revlimid to that taken with Velcade, for which refunds are given if it is ineffective on patients. The charities are also asking for the price of the drug to be reduced with a discount.
Revlimid, which costs around £4,500 a month per patient, can extend the lives of myeloma patients for up to three years. Myeloma affects 20,000 people in the UK.
Revlimid was recently ruled as not cost-effective by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (Nice). However, Nice has yet to make a final decision on use of Revlimid which means that doctors can still prescribe it for patients. Janssen-Cilag said it was "commited" to working with Nice. The final ruling is expected to be reached in January.
