Posted by Michael Wonder on 30 Dec 2016
AstraZeneca chief says NHS drug approval process hurts patients
29 December 2016 - Protracted negotiations deny access to life-saving treatments, says Pascal Soriot.
The chief executive of AstraZeneca has warned that protracted negotiations between drugmakers and the NHS are denying UK patients access to life-saving treatments, including the latest generation of cancer therapies already available in the US and other parts of Europe.
Pharmaceutical groups face extra hurdles in providing drugs to patients, with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence — which determines whether treatments will be made available on the NHS — demanding proof that medicines are not only effective and safe, but that they offer value for money.
But once drugs have been approved by NICE, companies face further negotiations with the NHS. Up until that point many drugs are only available in limited amounts through the Cancer Drugs Fund, set up by the government to pay for cancer treatments that have not been approved for use on the NHS.
