Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of proposals to end funding of IsaPD.

We have made no such assessment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service based on an assessment of their costs and benefits.

The NICE is currently updating its existing guidance on the use of isatuximab with pomalidomide and dexamethasone for treating relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma, following a period of managed access via the Cancer Drugs Fund.

The NICE was unable to recommend isatuximab with pomalidomide and dexamethasone as a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources in its final draft guidance published on 20 June. The NICE received two appeals against its draft recommendation which were heard by an independent panel. The panel has upheld the appeal on some grounds and the NICE’s appraisal committee will meet to consider the appeal panel’s findings.

Any changes to the NICE’s recommendations for isatuximab with pomalidomide and dexamethasone are not intended to affect people who started treatment during the period of managed access, who will continue to have access to isatuximab with pomalidomide and dexamethasone until they and their clinician consider it appropriate to stop.

It is right that the NICE makes its decisions at arm’s length of the Government and in line with its carefully developed methods and processes. As such, it would not be appropriate for the Department to intervene in the NICE’s decision-making.