A groundbreaking new drug for skin cancer has
been given the go-ahead for use in the NHS after England's drug cost
watchdog decided that the £5,700 per month price was good value for
money.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommended nivolumab, (also called Opdivo), a type of immunotherapy which stimulates the body's immune system to fight cancer cells.
Research has found that melanoma
patients survive much longer on the drug, which is administered by drip, than those given conventional chemotherapy.
patients survive much longer on the drug, which is administered by drip, than those given conventional chemotherapy.
The one-year survival rate was 73 per cent for those on nivolumab compared to 42 per cent for chemotherapy.
It is thought that the drug should benefit 1,400 patients a year and experts urged Nice to make it available to more patients.
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