John Denham has welcomed Southampton City Primary Care Trust’s decision to make the drug Alimta available immediately in the city.  Their decision follows a recommendation by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) that the drug can be prescribed to treat suitable patients with mesothelioma (a cancer associated with asbestos). 

Although NICE first made this recommendation some time ago, Southampton PCT had stopped allowing the drug pending the outcome of an appeal against the NICE recommendation.  That appeal has now been turned down so that PCTs are free to allow the drug to be used. 

John Denham said “I urged the PCT to allow the prescription of this drug even while we were awaiting the outcome of the appeal – as they are allowed to do.  I’m very pleased, now that NICE has made a final decision, that our PCT has decided to implement it immediately rather than waiting the normal three months.  Southampton has a higher incidence of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases than most of the rest of the country owing to our shipbuilding and industrial past.  Although mesothelioma is incurable, for some patients Alimta can provide some respite.”