The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is no stranger to controversy, especially in relation to the drugs which it has denied to patients in recent years, most notably Herceptin. It is now back in the headlines for not making available a drug for treating rare blood cancers.

It is not recommending azacitidine or Vidaza for treating myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a debilitating bone marrow disease on the grounds that it is too expensive. The move has angered cancer charities. Celgene UK, which manufactures the drug has said that it plans to appeal the ruling and David Hall, Chairman of the MDS UK Patient Support Group said that the decision is a huge blow to MDS patients.

He said: “A total of only 700 patients a year in England and Wales would require treatment with azacitidine so we do not believe that providing this life-extending treatment would make a huge impact on the NHS budget.” The cost of azacitidine is estimated to be £45,000 per patient.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8548114.stm