Skip to content. Skip to navigation Free legal advice on personal injury, accident and negligence compensation claims from www.injurywatch.co.uk

injurywatch

Sections

Personal tools

Log in
Join

You are here: Home → news and groups → news → workplace illness → asbestos → Mesothelioma sufferers won't get Alimta treatment on the NHS

free, easy legal help

	ask your injury law question: no charge and a quick answer!
	one of our lawyers will answer (usually within the day)
	come back to us if you need further help

answered questions: I was knocked off my bike by a car and injured. I only have the car's registration number, can I make a claim? 09-05-2008; My wife was driving our car and had an accident and I suffered whiplash. She is the named driver on my policy, can I claim against myself? 08-05-2008; I am pursuing a negligence claim on my mother's behalf. However, her home insurance does not cover this and she is not eligible for public funding. Is there another source of funding available? 07-05-2008; My partner and I were badly injured when I lost control of our car due to oil on the motorway. Can either of us claim for our injuries? 07-05-2008; Whilst at work I slipped and fell on steps which were covered with moss and filth. I hurt my leg and back and am still in agony. Can I claim? 07-05-2008; More…

Document Actions

Mesothelioma sufferers won't get Alimta treatment on the NHS

by Murdo Maguire — last modified 26-06-2006 18:27

A drug for the mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos, has been blocked for widespread use by the NHS in England and Wales. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) decided Alimta should only be recommended for use in new or ongoing clinical trials. NICE concluded there was not enough evidence the drug was better than existing cheaper treatments.

Manufacturers Lilly admit Alimta does not provide a cure - mesothelioma is always fatal - but argues that it can prolong the lives of patients.

Professor Nick Thatcher, specialist lung consultant at the Christie Hospital NHS Trust in Manchester, said: "This decision, if upheld, will remove a very useful treatment option for patients with this resistant cancer. It is contrary to the scientific evidence and is purely based on the value Nice place on a person's life."

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer affecting the mesothelial cells, which cover the outer surface of most of the body's internal organs. It most often affects the lining of the lungs and cases are almost always linked to a known exposure to asbestos. Although the use of asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999, it is predicted that 65,000 people will develop mesothelioma as a result of previous exposure.

There is no cure for the disease, but Alimta, known technically as pemetrexed disodium, is used to reduce symptoms.

The drug costs about £8,000 for each patient.

Whatever the circumstances, practical accident support, compensation claim assistance and legal advice is available free of charge from our expert First Response team on freephone 0800 037 1066.

Free legal advice direct to your inbox: Ask Law Answers your compensation claim legal question.