§ Mr. WoolasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to make Etanercept available on the NHS for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. [120655]
§ Ms StuartEtanercept will be available on the National Health Service as soon as the manufacturer launches the product in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will have completed the licensing process for the use of Remicade in rheumatoid arthritis; and if he will be referring this to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. [120831]
338W
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 8 May 2000]: Remicade has been authorised for the treatment of Crohn's disease. The authorisation was obtained through the European Centralised Procedure which is co-ordinated by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency. If the marketing authorisation holder applies for a new clinical indication for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products at the European Medicines Evaluation Agency will review the available data and transmit its scientific opinion to the European Commission. European marketing authorisations are published in the form of a commission Decision in the official Journal of the European Communities. Presently, remicade does not form part of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's (NICE) work programme for this year. However, NICE's work programme is continually being re-assessed and a number of possible additional topics for appraisal by NICE during the year 2000–01 are currently being considered. An announcement will be made shortly.