Plea to end cross-border drugs lottery
Holyrood answer reveals seven drugs available in England but not Scotland
Seven drugs to treat patients with a range of conditions from cancer to muscular dystrophy are unavailable to Scottish patients despite being available south of the Border, it has emerged.
The list of drugs has emerged in the answer to a parliamentary question tabled by Tory shadow health secretary Miles Briggs. This week Ruth Davidson used First Minister’s Questions to highlight the unavailability of breast cancer drug Perjeta, which gives patients in the advanced stages of the illness extra months of life.
The list reveals a further six medicines which can be accessed south of the Border, but not in Scotland. The drugs in question have been approved by Nice – the body which decides on the availability of treatments in England or are available through the Cancer Drugs Fund in England.
As well as Perjeta, drugs routinely available in England include cancer medicine Cometriq, lung cancer drug Tecentrip, Soliris – used to treat a form of blood disease – and Ataluren, which helps some patients suffering from muscular dystrophy.
Also available in England but not Scotland are Gazyvaro, which is used to treat leukaemia, and Parsabiv, which treats kidney disease.
The Holyrood answer also revealed four drugs which are available on the NHS in Scotland but not in England. They are the cancer drugs Avastin, Faslodex and Strivarga as well as muscle disease medication Spinraza.
Mr Briggs said a cross-border arrangement was needed to ensure no-one missed out on crucial care by virtue of where they lived.
Mr Briggs said: “These figures show there are seven drugs available routinely in England which patients here cannot get access to. We already know from the devastating breast cancer stories what impact the Perjeta situation is having on patients. Where possible, we need to end this particular injustice altogether. There are also some drugs available here which patients in England cannot access. That’s why we need both governments to get together and find a way which ensures no-one misses out. It’s clearly wrong that a few miles could cost someone extra months of life.”
This week Ms Davidson called for a deal to make Perjeta available in Scotland. Perjeta is said to prolong the lives of women with incurable breast cancer by up to 16 months. But it has been rejected three times for routine use in the Scottish NHS.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As these figures show, there are four drugs approved for routine use in NHS Scotland that are not currently approved in England. We’ve significantly improved access to new medicines in recent years as a result of our investment and reforms, however it is vital pharmaceutical companies also undertake reforms to ensure they offer medicines at a fair and transparent price.”
tom.peterkin@scotsman.com