§ 19. Clive EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on variations in practice relating to the prescription of TNF Alpha Blockade. [12124]
§ Mr. HuttonThe two main drugs involved in this therapy, etanercept and infliximab, are currently being appraised by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. Until NICE has completed its appraisal, national health service bodies have been advised to use their existing arrangements to determine local prescribing policies, using the publicly available evidence to inform their decision.