Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Cheryl Gillan (Conservative). It was answered on Wednesday, 15 February 2006 on behalf of the Wales Office.

Drugs Approvals

Question: After the brave Assembly protest by Jayne Sullivan over Herceptin, the judgment this morning that a primary care trust was right to deny the drug to a patient, and the Health Secretary's confusing statement that PCTs should not reject prescribing Herceptin for early-stage breast cancer on the ground of cost, will the Minister agree to press his Labour colleagues in the Department of Health and the Assembly to sort out the confusion over the prescribing of the drug because this vital matter affects all breast cancer patients in England and Wales?

Answer: The judgment has supported the advice of the Secretary of State that every case should be judged on its merits. That is the current position and I am sure that the Department of Health will reinforce it. Doctors can choose to prescribe unlicensed drugs, such as Herceptin, if, after considering a patient's medical history, they feel that their clinical needs can be best met by using it. The Secretary of State for Health has made it clear that PCTs in England—I am sure that Brian Gibbons in Wales agrees with this—cannot refuse to pay for a drug on the ground of its cost. Each case must be judged on its merits, with a consideration of strong clinical evidence. The drug still has not been licensed for treating early-stage breast cancer and the drug company has not even made an application to the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products. I hope that Roche will make that application as soon as possible so that the processes can be gone through as quickly as possible.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 442 c1404
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Breast cancer Prescription drugs Wales Trastuzumab Health services Finance Licensing Drugs Medical treatments Testing Side effects
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk