§ Mr. StinchcombeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the cost effectiveness of the drug naltrexone as a means of rehabilitating heroin addicts. [50628]
§ Ms BlearsNo assessment has been made of the cost effectiveness of naltrexone in the rehabilitation of heroin addicts. Any potential future analysis would be carried out by the National Treatment Agency (NTA). This would most likely be made in consultation with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). Naltrexone (as described in the British National Formulary) is given as an 'adjunct' to prevent relapse so that cost-effectiveness would need to address the context of use. In general terms there is little evidence on how long naltrexone should be used to remain effective in rehabilitation so adequate data on cost-effectiveness for this indication is unlikely to be available at present.