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LONDON, March 12, 2001 — Health Minister John Denham today confirmed the next wave in the National
Institute for Clinical Excellence's (NICE) rolling work programme.
NICE was set up last year to help tackle the postcode lottery of prescribing — where treatments are available in some areas and not others.
It will also speed up the uptake of clinically and cost effective new
treatments by issuing clear, evidence based guidance to the NHS on the use
of drugs and treatments.
The treatments to be appraised by NICE are the drug STI-571 for chronic
myeloid leukaemia, Caelyx for ovarian cancer, thrombolytic — "clot busting"
— drugs for heart attacks, surgical treatments for obesity, computerised
cognitive behaviour therapy for depression and anxiety, photodynamic therapy
for age-related macular degeneration, hip resurfacing for younger patients
or more active patients with hip disease and ultrasonic devices for locating
veins so patients can be injected or fed intravenously. Mr. Denham also
announced today that NICE would be considering whether the rheumatoid
arthritis drug etanercept (trade name Enbrel) should be available on the NHS
for children. In November NICE was asked to consider whether etanercept
should be recommended for use by adults. NICE will now extend its appraisal
to children. It is thought up to 500 children could be eligible for
treatment at any one time.
Further details on the topics included in NICE's fifth work programme:
STI-571 for chronic myeloid leukaemia
STI-571 is a new drug in development for the predominant form of chronic
myeloid leukaemia. This is one of a number of forms of cancer of the white
blood cells, responsible for about 500 deaths a year. The drug may provide
an important new option for treating the disease, although some
uncertainties remain.
Source: UK Department of Health
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