Cancer Drugs Prove Too Costly for UK Healthcare

Is saving or prolonging a life justified at any cost? The UK’s National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has advised against it, causing quite a stir in the British Isles.

NICE recently recommended that four drug treatments for kidney cancer remain unavailable on the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), citing failure of the medications to meet cost-effectiveness criteria. The drugs, which include Sutent (sunitinib), Avastin (bevacizumab), Nexavar (sorafenib) and Torisel (temsirolimus), cost between £20,000 and £35,000 per patient per year. They were found by NICE to provide “significant gains” in survival.

NICE is the independent organization responsible for providing the NHS guidance on health issues. The NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system of the UK, providing most of the primary, inpatient, and long-term care in addition to opthamology and dentistry.

While NICE has been criticized for failing to approve the cancer drugs, its chief accused pharmaceutical companies of driving up the cost of medicince. Sir Michael Rawlins defended NICE’s decision on the drugs, arguing that drug companies enjoy expanding profit margins and are “out to sustain that, not least because their senior management’s earnings are related to the share price.”

Also coming to the defense of NICE is Mark Henderson, who put forth an argument for cancer drug rationing in the Times. Henderson notes that there simply isn’t enough money to provide every free, point-of-use medical service that people want.

Opponents of the drug recommendation, including leading cancer specialist Robert Hawkins, claim the decision is bad for patients. Families of patients also slammed the decision, saying the life-saving drugs should not be rejected on the basis of cost. In addition, one drug company has already threatened to withdraw its products from the NICE approval process because of the controversy.

The debate on drug cost is nothing new in the UK, and the issue is sure to keep healthcare in the British media spotlight. It also raises public healthcare questions in the United States, where healthcare reform will surely be on the agenda during the presidential campaign this fall.