Decision
delivers victory for charity's campaign for full UK-wide
availability
Prostate Cancer
UK (formerly The Prostate Cancer Charity) has welcomed the Scottish
Medicines Consortium's (SMC) decision to recommend abiraterone for
use on the NHS in Scotland for men with incurable prostate
cancer.
The news comes
just two weeks after Prostate Cancer UK renewed its call for
abiraterone to be made available in Scotland, after Northern
Ireland had joined England and Wales in approving the drug for NHS
use.
Owen Sharp, Chief Executive of Prostate
Cancer UK, said: "This fantastic, if long overdue, news is an
absolute triumph for everyone in Scotland who joined us in
campaigning for men with incurable prostate cancer to be allowed
abiraterone on the NHS. Today brings a victory for both
decency and common sense. Abiraterone has now been approved for use
on the NHS UK-wide, and I thank and congratulate everyone who
backed us and helped us achieve this result.
"Now that the correct decision has been
made, health boards must waste no time in ensuring that men who
need abiraterone can access it as soon as possible. Men with
incurable prostate cancer should not be subjected to any further
delays at a stage in their life when time is at an absolute
premium."