ACCESS TO TREATMENT FOR LESS COMMON CANCERS

That this House expresses concern at the ruling by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in its final appraisal determination which will in effect deny a new treatment, Velcade, to people suffering from multiple myeloma on the NHS; recognises that this will create inequity in the Health Service in England and Wales where patients with private insurance will continue to have access to this life-extending treatment; notes that while NICE recognises its clinical effectiveness, the decision to withhold it from NHS patients has been made on the grounds of cost; further notes that other European countries have been able to assess the drug as both clinically and cost effective; acknowledges that NICE currently caps the cost of treatments at £30,000 per quality added life year, which is inappropriate in the assessment of rare diseases and should be set substantially higher; and in the light of this calls on the Secretary of State for Health to ask NICE to review urgently again its processes for the assessment of treatments for less common cancers such as multiple myeloma.