• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Must Reads Broken Britain

NICE sneak cost-cutting drug announcement through on day of election results

A life-extending drug for people suffering from a fatal lung disease will be withheld from patients until they are on their DEATH BED. The National Institute For Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) announced on the day of the General Election that Pirfenidone would only be used on people suffering from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) when […]

Jack Peat by Jack Peat
2017-06-13 15:36
in Broken Britain, Must Reads
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

A life-extending drug for people suffering from a fatal lung disease will be withheld from patients until they are on their DEATH BED.

The National Institute For Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) announced on the day of the General Election that Pirfenidone would only be used on people suffering from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) when they have 50-80% lung capacity left.

That means it will only be reserved for people with severe cases of IPF and NOT prescribed on the NHS for people in the early stages of this fatal lung condition.

The lung disease – which has no known cause or cure – has a prognosis worse than many cancers, causing a build-up of scar tissue in the lungs which makes them thick and hard and less able to take in oxygen.

A study from the British Lung Foundation (BLF) found approximately 32,500 people are currently living with the disease, which kills about 5,300 people a year.

Pirfenidone works by reducing lung fibrosis through downregulation of the production of growth factors and procollagens I and II.

In 2013, NICE recommended pirfenidone for patients with moderate IPF.

RelatedPosts

Speedboat owner who ‘corralled’ pod of dolphins convicted in first prosecution under national clampdown

Meet the UK’s super dogs… including a mastiff and Staffordshire bull terrier cross which alerted its owner to cancer

Two ‘louts’ kicked Asian taxi driver to death after he asked them to stop eating food in cab

‘Girls smell better at 16 than at 28’: Tory council candidate’s shock remarks

Without treatment, people with IPF on average only live for around two to five years from diagnosis.

Dr Penny Woods, Chief Executive of the BLF, said: “The decision today by NICE to continue denying some IPF patients access to a life-extending drug until their disease gets worse is extremely disappointing.

“It is inhuman to require someone to slowly deteriorate and have a poorer quality of life before they can be treated – and a choice that defies all common sense.

“This is another example of where proven interventions for respiratory patients are not being prioritised.

“We need a taskforce for lung health to look at these issues across diseases, and put in place a five year strategy to improve outcomes for the 12 million people affected by lung disease in the UK.”

According to the NICE announcement, Pirfenidone is recommended as an option for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in adults only if:

– the person has a forced vital capacity (FVC) between 50% and 80% predicted

– the company provides pirfenidone with the discount agreed in the patient access scheme and

– treatment is stopped if there is evidence of disease progression (an absolute decline of 10% or more in predicted FVC within any 12-month period).

IPF is the commonest form of interstitial lung disease; a group of disorders characterised by inflammation or fibrosis of the interstitial space.

Although considered a rare disease, IPF has been becoming more common in both the UK and the US over the last 30 years.

During the last decade the condition has, in the UK, been responsible for approximately 5000 deaths a year – or put another way, 1 in every 100 deaths in the UK each year is due to IPF.

The disease tends to present with insidious onset breathlessness, which at first is only noticeable on exertion but which over time progresses to the point that most sufferers develop resting respiratory failure.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

The death of Rashan Charles: Is the vilification of police justified?

Women and girls subjected to an epidemic of sexual violence

Wayne Couzens: Police officers ‘laughed’ at Radio DJ when she reported he exposed himself to her in 2008

‘You’ll Be Sacked’: Count Binface sends hilarious musical message to Boris Johnson

On Young Carers Day 700,000 Young People Are Not Having Childhood They Deserve

Restaurant Review: Baoziinn Chinatown 2

Clash of the Hightans

Johnson’s U-turns rile Tory backbenchers on return to Commons

There should be a ‘high bar’ to oust a sitting PM, minister claims

Man jailed for stealing £26K of chairs that police were “too busy” to investigate

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.