Roche's Avastin again spurned by NICE | Reuters: "Andrew Dillon, NICE chief executive, noted the cost watchdog recommended several other drugs for bowel cancer, including Merck KGaA's Erbitux, but said Roche failed to show its 'complex' price scheme would make Avastin cost-effective.
'We have to be confident that the benefits justify the considerable cost of this drug,' Dillon said in a statement.
Roche originally proposed a patient access scheme that would supply Avastin at 20,800 pounds per patient for one year, after which it would be free. The cost of accompanying oxaliplatin chemotherapy would also be reimbursed by Roche.
The new offer would have included these elements plus an additional upfront payment to the National Health Service (NHS) for each person starting on Avastin.
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1 comment:
Yes, Avastin does help, and some patients do get much better and beat their cancer after taking Avastin. But the odds are very low, so for every 1 success case, Avastin wouldn't be enough for countless others.
There needs to be a line drawn. Studies have shown, on average, that Avastin only prolongs the typical sufferer's like for 8 months. And the vast majority will succumb to their cancer, Avastin only prolongs the process. Is it worth spending £20k to treat every single cancer sufferer, just so one out of the x number survive?
In a world of finite resources, perhaps that money might be better used to alleviate child poverty, provide resources for women and children facing domestic abuse, or even fund better public transport that will not just improve the life of one person, but many others. £20k could probably pay for an extra nurse at the hospital, which will have an impact many times that than spending £20k on a drug that doesn't even cure the majority of patients that it is given to.
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