Remit
The Committee has agreed to examine general issues regarding the approval process for newly licensed medicines and the system of Individual Patient Treatment Requests (IPTRs).
Timetable
The Committee published its report on its findings in July 2013.
The Committee received the following correspondence:
On 31 January 2014 the Committee received the Scottish Medicines Consortium's report to the Scottish Government on the assessment of medicines for end of life care and very rare conditions (orphan and ultra-orphan medicines) in Scotland.
At its meeting on 4 March 2014, the Committee agreed to write to the four NHS boards whose cancer patients are treated at the West of Scotland Cancer Centre asking them to provide a copy of their current IPTR policy and any associated guidance in respect of this interim period. The Committee also agreed to ask boards to indicate what specific changes had taken place in the light of the CMO letter. The Committee has also written to the Cabinet Secretary about this issue.
Evidence
The Committee has received written submissions in relation to access to new medicines.
The Committee conducted an oral evidence session on 18 September with representatives from the following organisations:
On 6 November the Committee agreed to hold two further evidence sessions on access to new medicines. The first of these was on Tuesday 4 December and focused on access to cancer drug treatments.
The Committee conducted an oral evidence session on 4 December with representatives from the following organisations:
-
Scottish Cancer Research Network (West of Scotland)
-
Scottish Cancer Research Network (South East Scotland)
- Scottish Cancer Research Network (East of Scotland)
- Scottish Melanoma Group
- Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre
- Cancer Research UK
-
James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer
- Macmillan Cancer Support
- Myeloma UK
- Melanoma Action and Support Scotland
- Prostate Cancer UK
The second was on 29 January. This took a similar form to the meeting on 4 December, but focused on other conditions.
The Committee conducted an oral evidence session on 29 January with representatives from the following organisations:
- British Heart Foundation
- aHUSUK
- Newcastle University
- Alliance Scotland, (the ALLIANCE)
- Rare Disease UK
- PNH Scotland, PNH Alliance
- Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust
- Association for Glycogen Storage Disease (UK)
- Ivacaftor Patient Interest Group
The Committee conducted an oral evidence session on 7 May with the authors of the Scottish Government's report, New Medicines Reviews 2013, Professor Philip Routledge and Professor Charles Swainson. The Committee also heard from Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Well-being, Professor Bill Scott, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, and Dr Aileen Keel, Deputy Chief Medical Officer.
The Committee held a final oral evidence session on 21 May with representatives from the following organisations:
- Scottish Medicines Consortium
- Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
- NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
- NHS Grampian
- Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
- Myeloma UK
- Melanoma Action and Support Scotland
- NHS Lothian
- Scottish Cancer Research Network
- James Whale Fund Scotland
- NHS Tayside
- Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre
- aHUSUK
- Angus Long Term Conditions Support Groups
- Rare Disease UK
- PNH Scotland
- Association for Glycogen Storage Disease (UK) (Pompe Group)
- Cancer Research UK
After the publication of the Scottish Medicines Consortium's report to the Scottish Government the Committee held a final oral evidence session on 25 February with representatives from the following organisations:
- aHUSUK
- AGSD UK
- Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
- Cancer Research UK
- Kidney Cancer Scotland
- Myeloma UK
- Melanoma Action and Support Scotland
- PNH Scotland and PNH Alliance
- Rare Disease UK
- The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
- Breakthrough Breast Cancer
The Committee also took evidence from the Scottish Medicines Consortium.
On 4 March 2014 the Committee agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary and NHS Boards whose patients go to Beatson Oncology Centre.