PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Leukaemia: Medical Treatments (13 April 2018)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of treatment options for patients with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the (a) UK and (b) EU countries.

Asked by:
Mark Tami (Labour)

No such assessment has been made.

There is a well-established framework for enabling access to cost effective new cancer medicines in England. All new licensed cancer medicines are referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for inclusion within the Technology Appraisal Programme, this referral is irrespective of the clinical indication concerned. Where cancer medicines are approved by NICE for use in England, NHS England makes these available immediately. NICE now also has the ability to refer licensed medicines demonstrating promising, but not yet certain, benefits for inclusion within the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Answered by:
Steve Brine (Conservative)
23 April 2018