Patients' anger at drug decision

Janice Wrigglesworth will be entitled to Velcade on the NHS

Three cancer patients have spoken of their disappointment after it emerged only one of them will be entitled to a life-extending drug on the NHS.

The so-called Velcade Three, Janice Wrigglesworth, Jacky Pickles and Marie Morton, from Keighley, West Yorkshire, have campaigned for access to Velcade.

Velcade slows progression of myeloma - a cancer of bone marrow plasma cells.

But the government's drug watchdog has ruled it will only be given to patients when they relapse for the first time.

In June the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) said that multiple myeloma patients in England and Wales would get Velcade on the NHS after the drug's manufacturer offered to refund the NHS if a patient did not respond to treatment.

'Joy and anger'

But the latest ruling means only Janice Wrigglesworth will be entitled to the drug on the NHS.

The women issued a joint statement saying they had "mixed feelings" about the decision.

They said: "For Janice Wrigglesworth, and any patients who have recently been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, or those who haven't yet relapsed, there is joy and relief.

"These patients will at last be able to be treated with Velcade on the NHS following the money back guarantee offered by the manufacturer.

"For Marie Morton, and those patients who are on their second or third relapse, this decision is simply too little too late.

"For Jacky Pickles, and those few patients in the UK who have been lucky enough to receive a course of Velcade already, there is uncertainty and fear.

Velcade has performed well in trials

"On what should be a day of celebration after two years of campaigning for access to Velcade on the NHS, we are instead angry and disappointed that Nice has once again moved the goalposts."

The women said that in a consultation document released in June, Nice indicated that Velcade would be available to all patients.

But a spokeswoman for Nice said throughout the appraisal for the drug the recommendations had always applied to people who have experienced a first relapse.

She said: "Our assessment is that this drug is most cost-effective at first relapse, because patients at first relapse experience greater health benefits for a given amount of bortezomib (Velcade) treatment than those at second or subsequent relapse."

The spokeswoman said the recommendation was "intended for consultation with stakeholders and we make it clear that recommendations can and do change".