Doctors defy NICE as Alzheimer’s spending rises
pharmafile | July 17, 2007 | News story | Sales and Marketing |Â Â Â
UK Alzheimer's patients may not lose access to drug treatment, despite restrictive NICE guidance.
Prescribing of Alzheimer's drugs has increased by 55% in two years, suggesting doctors are defying NICE's instructions to clamp down on their use.
IMS country principal Nina Felton said patient group uproar after NICE's May 2006 draft guidance led to increased awareness of the drugs availability and an upsurge in prescribing.
"This has now plateaued, suggesting that NICE's final guidelines in November had minimal impact on GP's willingness to treat," she added.
According to IMS Health's NPA index, more than 83,000 prescriptions for the main Alzheime'rs drugs were written in May 2007, compared to fewer than 54,000 in June 2005.
Combined monthly sales of Eisai/Pfizer's Aricept, Novartis' Exelon, Shire's Reminyl and Lundbeck's Ebixa increased by 35% over the period to more than £6.9 million in May 2007.
A spokesman for the Alzheimer's Society declined to comment on the figures because they didn't go into enough detail. But she added: "We are increasingly hearing of people in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease being refused drugs; however, it is unclear how widespread it is at this stage."






