Alzheimer’s Disease :: Devastation as High Court upholds decision to restrict Alzheimer’s drugs

The UK High Court ruled that the process which resulted in Alzheimer’s drugs being restricted on the NHS was generally fair.

Campaigners, including the Alzheimer?s Research Trust, reacted with disappointment, but reiterated that early diagnosis remained important for patients and that the drugs are still available on the NHS for people in the moderate stages of the disease.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the government?s health watchdog which recommends whether a drug should be available on the NHS. In November 2006, NICE reversed guidance it had given in 2001 and recommended that three anti-Alzheimer?s drugs, Aricept (donepezil), Exelon (rivastigmine) and Reminyl (galantamine) should no longer be available to patients in the mild stages of Alzheimer?s and only prescribed to those in the moderate stages. The makers of Aricept, Eisai, brought the case to the High Court to challenge NICE?s decision. The Alzheimer?s Society also took part as an interested party.

Today, the Court ruled that the process had been fair except on one point. The verdict means that the decision to restrict Aricept to patients in the moderate stages of Alzheimer?s will remain. However, NICE were ordered to review its guidance for people with learning disabilities and those for whom English is not their first language. It is not yet known whether any party will appeal.

Commenting on the verdict, Harriet Millward, Deputy Chief Executive of the Alzheimer?s Research Trust, said

?We are devastated that these drugs will remain unavailable on the NHS to people with early-stage Alzheimer?s when they might benefit from them. We urgently need to do more research to find better treatments, but research is currently hugely underfunded ? we are scraping for every penny to fund vital work.?


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