Drug battle goes to the Court of Appeal (From The Northern Echo)

Drug battle goes to the Court of Appeal

8:51am Tuesday 15th April 2008 in Don't Stop Dementia Drugs

A BATTLE over the funding for Alzheimer's drugs on the NHS went to the Court of Appeal today.

Drugs company Eisai is fighting a decision to restrict access to Aricept - one of the acetyle cholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) class of drugs - to patients in the later stages of the disease.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) ruled the drug was not cost effective for patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's - a decision which was upheld by the High Court last year.

Nice decided that the drugs, which cost about £2.50 a day, did not make enough of a difference to recommend them for all patients. But Eisai says its did not follow a fair and transparent process in reaching its decision.

Yesterday, a panel of three appeal judges were told that nearly 100,000 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) will be refused the drugs following the Nice decision.

David Pannick QC, representing Eisai, said the guidance would have "a very substantial effect upon the availability and the potential duration of treatment"

with the drugs.

He said: "The evidence suggests that, when the guidance takes full effect (for no mild AD sufferer will have current treatment discontinued as a result of the guidance), annually 96,600 patients with mild AD will be refused treatment with AChEIs that would have been made available."

Ken Clasper, 60, from Chester-le-Street, has been able to lead a near-normal life after being given a similar anti-dementia drug called Exelon at a relatively early stage of his illness.

Last night, he said: "I think it is a brilliant idea to challenge Nice in the courts over these new dementia drugs.

"If I had been able to get Exelon even earlier, I might have been able to keep working and keep paying taxes."

Eisai's appeal is expected to last two days and judgement will be reserved until next month.