Blood Cancer: Immunotherapy
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the removal of access to a CAR-T therapy for mantle cell lymphoma on patients; and if his Department will consider learnings from other health systems that have provided access.
Answered by Dr Zubir Ahmed
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is re-evaluating brexucabtagene autoleucel following managed access through the Cancer Drugs Fund to determine whether it should be recommended for routine National Health Service funding. NICE’s draft guidance, published in December, does not recommend it as a clinically and cost-effective use of National Health Service resources. The Government recognises that any potential withdrawal for future patients with mantle cell lymphoma will be concerning, but these decisions are rightly taken independently and based on the available evidence. Under an arrangement between NHS England and the company, if NICE’s final guidance does not recommend routine use, patients who started treatment during the managed access period can continue their treatment.
NICE is an England-only body. Medicine availability decisions in the devolved administrations are for the relevant devolved governments.
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