PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Leukaemia: Drugs (23 March 2015)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of NICE's decision not to appraise the drug ponatinib for chronic myeloid leukaemia; and if he will make a statement.

Asked by:
Mark Tami (Labour)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) considered the suitability of ponatinib for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia for referral to its technology appraisal work programme through the topic selection process in 2013-14. NICE concluded, following consultation with stakeholders, that a technology appraisal was not appropriate, noting that the likely eligible patient population was very small. Further information on the rationale for not referring this topic to NICE is available on the NICE website at:

http://www.nice.org.uk/about/what-we-do/our-programmes/nice-guidance/nice-technology-appraisal-guidance/block-scoping-reports

A number of treatments, including the drug bosutinib, are available through the Cancer Drugs Fund for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia who are intolerant or resistant to other tyrosine-kinase inhibitor therapies.

Answered by:
George Freeman (Conservative)
26 March 2015