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Employers to Pay for Asbestos Cancer Drug

Posted on: Saturday, 15 October 2005, 09:00 CDT

By Exclusive by BARRY NELSON Health Editor

VICTIMS of asbestos-related cancer who cannot receive a new drug on the NHS have forced their former employers to pay for treatment.

The success of two NorthEast victims of mesothelioma in securing out-of-court settlements paves the way for more patients to receive the life-extending chemotherapy drug Alimta.

Frustrated at the failure of the NHS to pay the 24,000-acourse costs, terminally-ill mesothelioma patients have resorted to legal action to pay for Alimta.

Now the two men, who have asked to remain anonymous, can have Alimta privately.

Alimta is the first new drug for years that can relieve the symptoms of mesothelioma patients. Caused by inhaling asbestos fragments, mesothelioma is a terminal illness and one of the UK's fastest growing cancers.

More than 1,700 people are diagnosed with the condition in Britain every year.

The North-East has the most cases because of its history of heavy industry.

Alimta was created by a team at Newcastle University, led by Professor Hilary Calvert, and developed by the drug firm Eli Lilly.

Although the drug is fully licensed and is being prescribed by cancer specialists across Europe and the US, very few NHS patients in England are being given Alimta.

Yesterday, North-East law firm Thompsons revealed that they have secured the first two out-of-court settlements, which have a built- in component to pay for treatment with Alimta.

Ian McFall, head of asbestos litigation at Thompson's Newcastle office, said he believed the move was unprecedented and would lead to further action.

The solicitor said it was regrettable that Alimta was not being made available on the NHS in the North-East, even though health authorities in the South-East and the NorthWest had agreed to fund courses for patients.

Mr McFall said: "Many of our clients developed mesothelioma after a lifetime's hard graft in a shipyard or a building site and the notion of finding 24,000 to pay for treatment is out of the question for them, " said Mr McFall.

One of the main obstacles to Alimta becoming more widely available on the NHS is the fact that the drug has not been assessed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice).

The body, set up by the Government to evaluate and approve new drugs for the NHS, is not due to deliver its verdict on Alimta until October next year.

The lack of Nice approval has undoubtedly influenced the two North-East bodies that were set up to take decisions on local NHS drug funding.

June Tulley, director of the Cancer Care Alliance covering south Durham, Teesside and North Yorkshire, said some consultants wanted to prescribe Alimta but it had not been shown to be cost effective.

She said the biggest issue was funding a drug that has not been approved by Nice.

Moira Davidson, director of the Northern Cancer Network, which covers north Durham, Tyneside and Wearside, said Alimta had been looked at on two occasions but it was felt that it did not meet the Nice formula for cost effectiveness.

Former fitter Bernard Hoyland, 63, from Marske, east Cleveland, is one of a number of mesothelioma patients on Thompsons' books who has been told that they would benefit from Alimta but there is no funding available.

"To save money, those who need it simply can't get it. It's cruel, " said Mr Hoyland, who worked for ICI and William Press between 1958 and 1980.

A spokeswoman for Nice said: "Nice is now in discussion with the Department of Health over proposals for a revised process allowing more rapid appraisal of important new drugs and health technologies.

"In selected cases, this would allow Nice to issue guidance shortly after a drug becomes available for use in the NHS."

Source: Northern Echo

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