Restaurant critic AA Gill died from lung cancer last December, aged 62. In his final column, he revealed that his doctor had wanted to offer him Nivolumab but couldn’t because it wasn’t available on the NHS
A life-extending cancer drug which was denied to restaurant critic AA Gill has finally been made available on the NHS.
Nivolumab will be offered to 1,300 patients with advanced lung cancer after being approved by Nice, the drugs rationing body.
It is one of a revolutionary class of drugs called immunotherapy which work by teaching the body’s immune system to fight cancer. But it was initially turned down by Nice last year after being judged too expensive.
AA Gill worked for the Sunday Times and died from lung cancer last December, aged 62.
In his final column, he revealed that his doctor had wanted to offer him Nivolumab but couldn’t because it wasn’t available on the NHS.
He wrote that his consultant had told his partner Nicola Formby ‘If he had insurance, I’d put him on immunotherapy – specifically, Nivolumab.
‘As would every oncologist in the First World. But I can’t do it on the National Health.
‘As yet, immunotherapy isn’t a cure, it’s a stretch more life, a considerable bit of life.
‘More life with your kids, more life with your friends, more life holding hands, more life shared, more life spent on earth but only if you can pay.’
The drug will initially be paid for by the Cancer Drugs Fund, a pot of money set aside for treatments which aren’t yet routinely available. Its manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb has agreed to offer it at a discounted price.
In the meantime, Nice will obtain more evidence on its effectiveness and value for money. Professor Carole Longson, of the Nice centre for health technology evaluation, said: ‘We know that Nivolumab is clinically effective for some people with lung cancer but the full extent of its benefit is not clear.
‘This new deal means that we can give patients access to what we know is a promising treatment whilst more evidence is gathered on its value.’
Nivolumab will be offered to 1,300 patients with advanced lung cancer on the NHS after being approved by Nice, the drugs rationing body (stock photo)
Professor Paul Workman, at the Institute of Cancer Research said it was ‘great news’.
‘I’m pleased to see Nice and the drug’s manufacturer showing flexibility in reaching agreement on its approval.
‘But this is another instance where patients in the UK have had to wait far longer than necessary to access an innovative new treatment.
‘Initially, the drug was priced far too high to ever have been judged cost-effective by Nice. Companies need to come to the table with their best, most realistic price offer right at the start, so we get new exciting drugs, such as immunotherapies, to patients as quickly as possible.
‘Immunotherapies are very expensive, but one of the ways to make them more cost-effective is to direct them to patients most likely to respond.’
Nivolumab works by preventing tumour cells from disguising themselves from the body’s immune system.
It will initially be offered to 1,300 patients with lung cancer who have already received chemotherapy. They will receive treatment intravenously every two weeks and a month’s course will cost about £5,300.
Only between 1 per cent and 4 per cent of advanced lung cancer patients are alive five years after they are diagnosed.
But a study at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, US, found 16 per cent survived for four years and ten months after using Nivolumab.