Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will instruct officials of his Department to continue to work with the manufacturers of Nivolumab on ensuring that patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer can access that drug through the NHS.

George Freeman

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising nivolumab (Opdivo) for non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer.

As part of its appraisal, the NICE has considered a patient access scheme (PAS) proposal from the manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb which has been agreed by Ministers. Departmental officials are open to discussing any further proposals regarding the PAS with the company.

The NICE currently expects to publish its final guidance in September 2016.

In the absence of the NICE guidance, it is for commissioners to make funding decisions based on the available evidence.