A potentially life-extending cancer drug that was denied to a north-east sufferer will finally be available on the NHS in Scotland.
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) announced yesterday that it had approved the use of cetuximab for people receiving chemotherapy for colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver.
The widow of Buckie man Michael Gray described the decision as a “bitter-sweet” victory in the battle for better treatment.
Tina McGeever said: “I am glad that other people will not have to fight for the drug. It is bitter-sweet in that unfortunately Michael had to fight for the drug when he was dying.
“It is a positive step and I am really pleased that it has been approved in the country and people will be able to access it now.”
When he was terminally ill, Mr Gray went to the Scottish Parliament to fight for the fair provision of cetuximab and other cancer drugs across Scotland. His consultant had prescribed the drug but NHS Grampian refused to provide it, claiming it was following the advice of the SMC.
Every two weeks, Mr Gray was forced to pay out £1,360 for cetuximab plus another £2,000 for associated therapy that the health board would not cover because patients were not allowed to provide some of their treatment privately.
NHS Grampian later changed its mind on appeal. Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon gave an assurance that patients who paid for drugs privately would not lose out on NHS care.
Ms McGeever said her husband had been told that cetuximab would eventually be approved, but not in his lifetime.
“They are saying it is for people who are terminally ill and it helps prolong their life,” she said. “It did with Michael, albeit it was shorter than I had thought.
“But the point is his life was prolonged and it was still a decent quality of life.
“I am delighted that at long last they have approved the drug, considering it has been approved in Europe for a number of years.”
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Peter Peacock, who backed the campaign, said: “I welcome the decision but it is very regrettable that the decision has only happened now and someone like Michael Gray, who put up a very dignified fight for the drug, had to go through all the trauma of arguing for a drug that has now been accepted as valuable.”
Tory health spokeswoman Mary Scanlon said: “Many people in Scotland will benefit as a result of the courageous campaigning by Michael Gray.”
An SMC spokesman said Mr Gray’s case did not have a “direct relation” to the approval of cetuximab.
“This decision was looking at lots of different factors, a key one being that the manufacture has managed to find a way to reduce the cost of the drug and improve its value for money,” he said.