Alzheimer's Disease (Hansard, 21 April 2004)

§ Dr. Gibson
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will estimate the number of patients with moderately-severe and severe Alzheimer's disease living(a) at home and (b) in institutional care; and if he will make a statement; [166203]
(2) how many patients are suffering from moderately-severe and severe Alzheimer's disease; and if he will make a statement. [166204]

§ Dr. Ladyman
Although the Department does not routinely collect this information, we estimate that of the 700,000 or so people with dementia in England and Wales, around 400,000 have Alzheimer's disease. Of these, we estimate around 200,000 have moderately severe or severe Alzheimer's disease.

§ Dr. Stoate
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list for each(a) primary care trust and (b) strategic health authority area the total amount spent on drugs for severe Alzheimer's disease in the last year for which figures are available; [166562]
(2) what assessment he has made of the availability of drugs for advanced Alzheimer's disease throughout the UK; and if he will make a statement; [166563]
(3) what guidelines he has sent to primary care trusts regarding the availability of drug treatments for severe Alzheimer's disease patients; and if he will make a statement; [166564]
(4) what discussions he has held with (a) patient groups, (b) charities, (c) old age psychiatrists and (d) the drug industry concerning the availability of drug treatment for severe Alzheimer's disease patients; [166565]
(5) if he will make a statement on the funding for drug treatments for severe Alzheimer's disease in advance of a National Institute for Clinical Excellence appraisal; [166566]
(6) if he will list the licensed treatments currently available for moderately-severe to severe Alzheimer's disease patients. [166567]

§ Dr. Ladyman
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), on behalf of the Licensing Authority, grants marketing authorisations for medicinal products provided that satisfactory quality, safety and efficacy data have been submitted for the medicinal product for use in the proposed indication and that the risk benefit is deemed favourable. According to the MHRA records, there is one licensed product, Ebixa (memantine hydrochloride), which is indicated for the treatment of moderately-severe to severe Alzheimer's disease.
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Information on Ebixa dispensed at primary care trust and strategic health authority (SHA) level is not publicly available due to the small numbers involved. However, it is known that Ebixa was dispensed in the community in all 28 SHAs in England in 2002–03.
No formal discussions have taken place between Ministers and stakeholders concerning the availability of drug treatment for severe Alzheimer's disease patients.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is, however, appraising Ebixa as part of the eighth wave of its work programme. The anticipated publication date of its guidance May 2005.
The Department has asked National Health Service bodies (in HSC 1999/176) to continue with local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies, including drugs such as Ebixa, where guidance from NICE is not published at the time the technology first became available. These arrangements should involve an assessment of all the available evidence.
When considering the funding of any treatment currently being appraised by NICE, or where no appraisal has been commissioned, funding authorities are expected to use their existing prescribing arrangements and consider the evidence available to them on the clinical effectiveness of the treatment.