Cancer charities have slammed the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (Nice) decision to reject a drug that prolongs the life of prostate cancer suffers for being too expensive.
Nice released its draft guidance saying that abiraterone's cost of at least £63,200 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) was too much for the organisation to recommend for NHS use. However, this has been greeted with anger by cancer groups who said the drug had been in high demand from the government's specialist cancer drugs fund and there were almost no effective alternatives available. The body has rejected several other cancer drugs over recent months, predominantly on the grounds of cost. While it is not a rigid formula, Nice typically does not recommend treatments that cost ...
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