GREAT NEWS! Deal reached on NHS myeloma drug.

[Burkitt]

Drug advisers have changed guidance rejecting NHS use of a bone marrow cancer drug in England and Wales. What difference does it make to you?

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence had rejected lenalidomide for multiple myeloma because it was not cost effective.

But revised draft guidance has agreed access to the treatment under a cost-sharing deal where the drug company picks up the cost after two years.

This is the first guidance from NICE to be revised after new rules designed to be more flexible in judging treatments offering survival benefits in terminal conditions. NICE has recommended that lenalidomide, also known as Revlimid, can be used in combination with dexamethasone in multiple myeloma patients who have received two or more prior therapies.

Under the agreement, the NHS in England and Wales will cover the cost of the drug for the first two years - a total of 26 treatment cycles, each lasting 28 days. In anyone who remains on treatment for longer than two years, the manufacturer, Celgene, will pick up the tab - expected to be around 17% of patients.

The full article can be found here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7859053.stm