Private Patients Get Life-Saving Medicine

Progress is being made to speed up the drugs system, but private patients will always have access to new medication first, a cancer charity conceded last night.

Kate Law, head of clinical research at Cancer Research UK, said: “All systems have a way through which some people can buy things that other people can’t. That doesn’t make it fair. But the principle of how the system works is good.”

Dr Law said talks were under way to create a process in which drugs shown to bring clear medical advances could be fast-tracked for NHS use.

Cancer drug Tarceva, which has can prolong the life of patients with incurable non-small-cell lung cancer, was licensed by the European Medicines Agency.

Private health insurers Bupa, AXA, PPP and Standard Life Healthcare are making it available to qualifying members, but Nice may not review it for NHS use until 2007.