NHS funding for life-changing asthma medicine now mandatory
A significant milestone for patients with severe life-threatening asthma has been reached following a stipulation by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) that NHS funding for the asthma medicine Xolair® (omalizumab) must now be made available to eligible patients.
NICE has determined that people with severe allergic asthma, who are on continuous or frequent oral corticosteroids (defined as four or more courses in the previous year), including children aged 6 years and above, should now have access to the treatment.
“Many patients unnecessarily accept the everyday limitations and sudden asthma attacks, which are a feature of severe allergic asthma. This means that, without the appropriate care they deserve, they are unable to carry out simple everyday tasks such as shopping or working," explained Dr Robert Niven, Senior Lecturer in Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust.
"There is a lack of knowledge about severe allergic asthma and I would urge anyone who has been on numerous courses of oral steroids, for treating their asthma, be seen by their doctor for an assessment.”
According to the pharmaceutical company Novartis who manufacture the drug, omalizumab can offer eligible patients life-changing improvements in their disease.
According to figures, the drug has been shown to reduce asthma exacerbations by 54%, reduce hospital admissions by 61% and overnight hospital stays by 70% following one year of treatment. Long-term studies recognise the clinical effectiveness of omalizumab, including the reduction of exacerbations, unscheduled hospitalisations and improvements in health-related quality of life.
Aside from omalizumab the other main treatment for severe allergic asthma is oral corticosteroid therapy (OCS), which can be associated with long-term side effects such as weight gain, hypertension, osteoporosis and depression. While OCS therapy can help to control severe allergic asthma symptoms, omalizumab has been proven to target the underlying causes, which for some people can be life-threatening.
Asthma facts and figures, supplied by Novartis (from sources below):
- Over five million people in the UK suffer from asthma; 1.1 million are children1,2
- The disease kills approximately 1,000 people in the UK each year, 90% of which are preventable2
- The NHS spends £1 billion per year treating people with asthma2; around 80% of this is spent on managing those with the most severe asthma symptoms3
- It is estimated that approximately 14,315 people in the UK suffer from severe allergic asthma4
- Allergic asthma is the most common type of asthma caused by year-round allergens in the air, such as dust5
1. NHS Choices. What is Asthma? Available online: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/asthma/Pages/Introduction.aspx (last accessed: July 2013).
2. Asthma UK. Facts for journalists. Available online: http://www.asthma.org.uk/
3. Asthma UK. Fighting for breath - the hidden lives of people with severe asthma (2010). Asthma UK
4. Novartis data on file
5. Asthma and Allergy Foundation for America. Asthma Facts and Figures. Available online at http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=9&sub=42 (last accessed: July 2013)
