A CHARITY has made fresh calls for a breakthrough cancer treatment to be approved for use in Scotland after it became the only part of the UK where the drug is not available on the NHS.
Charity Prostate Cancer UK renewed calls for a life-prolonging drug to be made available on the Scottish NHS yesterday, after it was given the green light in Northern Ireland. It had previously been approved for use in England and Wales.
The treatment, abiraterone, has been credited with keeping the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, alive for 1000 days after his release.
However, it was rejected by scrutiny body the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) in March and patients can only get it privately, through clinical trials or case-by-case approval.
Owen Sharp, chief executive of Prostate Cancer UK, said: "News that abiraterone has been approved for use in the NHS in England, Wales and now Northern Ireland represents a resounding triumph for the thousands of men with advanced prostate cancer who campaigned long and hard for its availability.
"However our delight for men in these countries is matched only by our dismay that Scotland remains out on a limb as the only country in the UK where men with incurable prostate cancer continue to be routinely denied access to abiraterone on the NHS.
"The Scottish Medicines Consortium's original decision to reject abiraterone on the NHS in March was a bitter blow to hundreds of men dying of prostate cancer north of the border. Prostate Cancer UK will not rest until men have access to the drugs they need, regardless of where they live in the UK."
SMC asked the manufacturer of the drug to re-apply for approval and they expect to make a decision in two weeks.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman added: "The Scottish Government has already issued guidance to help health boards make consistent and transparent decisions about the introduction and availability of all newly licensed medicines.
"This guidance includes specific advice about making drugs available for individual patients even if they are not recommended for general use."
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