PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH AND CLINICAL EXCELLENCE APPRAISAL OF TREATMENT FOR PULMONARY ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION (12 March 2008)

That this House expresses its concern at the Appraisal Consultation Document regarding treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE); notes that NICE's recommendation to no longer use intravenous epoprostenol and inhaled iloprost would have a direct impact on existing and future patients with this life threatening disease; further notes that the effective combination, dual and triple therapies which 25 per cent. of patients receive will be withdrawn without an alternative; further notes that there will be no therapies available for the most severely ill patients; acknowledges that NICE currently considers therapies which exceed a cost of £30,000 per quality adjusted life year not to be cost-effective, which is inappropriate in the assessment of rare conditions like pulmonary arterial hypertension; further notes that NICE has not followed the principles laid out in its own position paper when considering very rare conditions; and therefore calls on NICE to carefully consider representations made in response to its preliminary recommendations by stakeholder groups such as the Pulmonary Hypertension Association UK, clinical experts and patient groups, and allow the continued prescribing of effective drug therapies by expert clinicians in the seven designated specialist treatment centres in the UK, in accordance with the consensus document published in March.

Sponsored by:
Nick Ainger (Labour)