NICE decision on liver cancer drug Nexavar condemned

Thousands of people with liver cancer have been told a life-extending drug is too expensive to be provided on the NHS, provoking outrage among both patients and cancer charities.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has ruled the cost of Nexavar – at about £3,000 a month – is “simply too high” for use in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Andrew Dillon, chief executive of NICE, said: “The price being asked by [the manufacturer] Bayer is simply too high to justify using NHS money which could be spent on better value cancer treatments.”

But Macmillan Cancer Support said the decision was “a scandal”, while patients and their relatives have said it is impossible to put a price on the extra months of life given by the drug. Here are some reactions to the decision.

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