• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

We Were Guinea Pigs for a New Drug... But Now Health Trust Won'Tpay for It

Posted on: Wednesday, 8 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By Barbara Goulden

SEVERE asthma sufferers Teresa Felton and John White acted as guinea pigs for a new drug - but now they can't have it on prescription.

They say the drug has been a "lifeline" for them but the Coventry body which would have to pay for it won't stump up the money for on- going treatment.

For four years, the pair were among a group of patients who agreed to test the new drug, Xolair, on behalf of a Swiss pharmaceutical giant.

The success of Xolair on them, and other asthma sufferers, meant that in December the new medication was licensed so doctors all over Britain can now prescribe the injections.

But Coventry Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT) is refusing to foot the cost automatically. It would total about pounds 500 a month for each patient.

Mrs Felton, aged 64, who was a Coventry nurse for 25 years before her condition forced her to retire, said: "This drug has been a lifeline for people like me."

The grandmother, of Humber Road, Stoke, added: "I know it's expensive but surely nowhere near as expensive as having to repeatedly admit people like John and myself into hospital."

Mr White, aged 56, of Lockhurst Lane, Great Heath, said his asthma attacks were so bad that, before agreeing to the trial, he was regularly admitted to hospital five or six times a year.

The former buyer said: "I know the drug companies are about making money and the NHS is about saving money but this doesn't make any economic sense.

"The government wants to get people like me off incapacity benefit and back into work. Well, I'd love to go back to work but when I had a brief spell off this drug my breathing deteriorated and I was back in hospital within six weeks."

The pair are among a total of 64 asthma sufferers who went to Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham to act as guinea pigs for the drug.

Half were injected once a month with Xolair - but none of the patients knew which of them was actually being given the medication and which administered with a harmless placebo.

For Teresa and John, only the dramatic improvements in their conditions indicated they were receiving Xolair, something their consultant, Adel Mansur, later confirmed.

Since then, Mr Mansur has been successful in getting some extra supplies from the manufacturers for his patients. But now the drug has its licence for sale, the stock is dwindling.

Requests by the patients to their individual PCTs throughout the region have met with a mixed response.

Coventry PCT and Solihull PCT both said no, but doctors at Solihull have now changed their minds and agreed to prescribe the drug for at least one patient.

Mr White has appealed for help to city MP Bob Ainsworth and says several patients will tomorrow meet to discuss the situation.

Source: Coventry Evening Telegraph

More News in this Category