Written question asked by Adam Holloway (Conservative) on Monday, 23 October 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 25 October 2006. It was answered by Andy Burnham (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 November 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Neurotin Gabapentin

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent on neurotin gabapentin in the latest year for which figures are available; what assessment has been made of the drug's value for money compared with other treatments; and if she will make a statement.

Answer: In the financial year 2005-06, the value of the drugs dispensed in primary care in England was £1,742,134 for branded Neurotin and £63,542,027 for generic gabapentin.The use of gabapentin for the treatment of epilepsy was considered as part of two National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) appraisals in 2004—““Epilepsy (adults)—newer drugs and Epilepsy (children)—newer drugs””. In both appraisals NICE recommended that gabapentin and other relatively recent drugs for epilepsy be considered for use when other epilepsy drugs on their own do not stop seizures. Information on both these appraisals can be found on NICE’s website at www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=TA76 and www.nice.org.uk/paqe.aspx?o=TA79.

Secondary information