07 December 2007
It might not be practical to accelerate the assessment of cancer drugs, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has warned.
It was responding to the Department of Health's NHS Cancer Reform Strategy, published on December 4, which instructed the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to assess cancer drugs at the same time as licensing them.
Dr Richard Barker, the association's director general, said: 'It is difficult to assess medicines' cost-effectiveness at launch. The relevant data are simply not available — and this is especially true of cancer medicines.'
The government has launched the strategy to tackle survival rates in the UK, which are still below the European average. It includes a £200m investment to boost radiotherapy capacity over the next three years; measures to improve the detection of cancer in primary care; and an extension of the NHS breast cancer screening programme to all women aged 47 to 73.
PFdec2007
