Mr. Gareth ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions have taken place between his Department and the National Institute of Clinical Excellence about the use of infliximab. [66815]
§ Mr. LammyThe National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued guidance on infliximab for Crohns Disease in May 2002 and recommended to the national health service in England and Wales that infliximab should be available to some people with severe active Crohn's disease.
In March 2002 NICE recommended that, etanercept and infliximab, new drugs for the treatment of arthritis, may be given as part of the management of rheumatoid arthritis in adult patients who have rheumatoid arthritis that has not responded adequately to at least two disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, including methotrexate.
As a stakeholder the Department and National Assembly for Wales are given the opportunity to comment on draft scopes and the provisional guidance. The NICE review of infliximab is due May 2005, and during revision the Department and National Assembly for Wales will be given the opportunity to comment on the draft appraisal.