NICE continues to withhold drug treatment from dementia sufferers

Further to a review of its guidance on NHS prescription of the drug Aricept, The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has decided not to change its current stance – meaning that thousands of patients in the early stages of dementia will continue to be denied the treatment. NICE undertook the review after pharmaceutical companies Eisai and Pfizer, which make Aricept, won their case to enforce a review in the Appeal Court in May 2008. NICE was ordered to disclose details of the economic model that was used to make decisions on the drug’s cost-effectiveness and to submit the model to stakeholders for consultation. Although some changes to the model have been made, NICE chief executive Andrew Dillon stated that: ‘Our Independent Advisory Committee concluded that these were not enough to make these treatments a cost-effective use of NHS resources in the mild stages of the disease.’ The news was met with dismay by the charity Alzheimer’s Society, who commented: ‘Alzheimer's Society has long campaigned for the thousands of people in the early stages of dementia to be given access to the effective treatments that they are currently denied because of cost. It is completely unacceptable to deny people with dementia the only treatments that could improve quality of life for them and their carers.’ Elsai and Pfizer also expressed their frustration at NICE’s decision as well as their concerns around the quality of the economic model used. However, NICE has now agreed to instigate a new review of the evidence, which will involve the two drug companies as well as other stakeholders, and is due to start in the near future.