Scotland says no to Iressa despite NICE yes
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), Scotland's health technology assessment body, has rejected AstraZeneca's Iressa (gefitinib) for treating patients on the NHS with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). AstraZeneca claims that this will cause "inequality north of the border" because the organisation's counterpart in England, NICE, has recommended the drug for use on the NHS south of the border.