New Advanced Melanoma Drug Could be Denied - Your HELP is Needed!

On 14 October 2011 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued a statement which is a devastating blow to patients with advanced melanoma. In the statement it said that the use of the drug Yervoy (Ipilimumab) for patients in England and Wales, has been denied.

Yervoy (Ipilimumab) is the first drug licensed since the 1970s for the treatment for advanced melanoma. It works in a new way by stimulating the body’s own immune system to fight cancer (know as immunotherapy).
Patients with this aggressive disease are expected to have a median overall survival of 6-9 months but in trials, 46% of patients taking Yervoy (Ipilimumab) were still alive after a year and in some cases, some patients live even longer.

The decision by the NICE Appraisal Committee is extremely disappointing as it will deny many patients across England and Wales to the long-awaited arrival of a new and effective treatment option. It means that patients will continue to have limited treatment options beyond the current standard of care, a chemotherapy that was first licensed in the 1970s.  We therefore need your help to tell the NICE Committee it needs to review its decision. That way, Yervoy (Ipilimumab) will be available on the NHS to all those patients across England and Wales who require it.

Please urgently support by making representations to your MP, NICE and the Department of Health. It is important that they understand the scale of the opposition to this guidance. We need as many patients, carers, friends, supporters, and health professionals as possible to write to NICE and respond to the consultation, as well as tell their local MPs about their concerns. Use our simple ‘how to’ guide so we can work together to tell NICE of our disappointment in its decision. THANK-YOU!

Download Patient/Carer/Supporter Pack Here

Download Health Professionals/Patient Support Group Pack Here

We have until 4 November to respond to this decision, after which the NICE Appraisal Committee will meet again to consider these responses (on 16 November 2011).