Cancer charities have criticized the decision by the NHS treatment watchdog
to reject an innovative new drug to treat ovarian cancer on the grounds
of cost.Nice, the National Institute for Health
and Care Excellence, said in draft guidance it was disappointed that it
must turn down Olaparib (Lynparza), but the price tag of more than
£49,000 a year was considerably higher than its ceiling of £20,000 to
£30,000. When tests to assess patient suitability for the drug are
included, the price rises higher still. However, cancer charities were dismayed, pointing out that the death
toll in ovarian cancer was very high and that the drug was available
elsewhere in Europe. Cancer Research UK said the decision was “hard to
understand”. The Institute of Cancer Research said the “frustrating delay will prevent around 450 women each year from being able to access a beneficial treatment”.
The drug is for women who have the most common form of ovarian cancer
and a mutation of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, which make them highly
susceptible to the disease.
Nice, however, said there was not enough conclusive evidence on the
drug’s effectiveness to justify the high cost. “Olaparib slows the
progression of the disease for patients with some forms of ovarian
cancer but the evidence that it can extend life is uncertain,” said Sir
Andrew Dillon, the chief executive. “Because patients are already living
longer than two years with conventional treatment, we weren’t able to
apply the flexibility we can sometimes use when we appraise cancer
drugs.
“The cost to the NHS
of using this new drug isn’t consistent with the benefits that patients
for whom it works will gain and so we were disappointed not to be able
to recommend it in this draft guidance.”
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