Kidney cancer drug given go-ahead

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Final guidance backing the use of sunitinib was issued by the body that vets NHS treatments on the basis of their value for money.

The recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) means all eligible patients in England, Wales and Scotland should now be offered the medicine.

Nice has given the go-ahead for sunitinib, marketed as Sutent, to be prescribed as an immediate treatment to patients with advanced kidney cancer.

Although not a cure, the drug has been shown to extend patients' survival by several months and in some situations more than two years. Sunitinib is taken by mouth in the form of capsules.

The decision marks a U-turn after Nice ruled last year that sunitinib was not cost-effective enough, sparking accusations that sufferers were being condemned to an early death.

Nice's Scottish sister body, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), rejected the drug in 2007 but reversed its earlier decision in the wake of the new recommendation.

NHS Quality Improvement Scotland announced that the drug will be made available to patients north of the border following the new advice.

Nice took a new look at the drug after manufacturer Pfizer came up with a plan to make it more affordable.

Under the deal, the company agreed to a 5% discount, dropping the price of sunitinib to around £24,000 per patient per year. It also offered to pay for the first six-week phase of treatment, amounting to just over £3,000, with the NHS picking up the rest of the bill.