Campaigners have reacted with dismay that appeals have been made against the decision by NICE (the National Institute for Clinical Health and Excellence) to fund the chemotherapy drug Alimta (pemetrexed disodium) for mesothelioma sufferers.

Funding of the drug was approved for the treatment of mesothelioma on the 9th July this year when NICE reversed their previous Appraisal findings.  The U-turn followed extensive lobbying by campaigners on behalf of asbestos sufferers.  Click here to read the previous story.

Therefore, the news of two appeals will come as a huge disappointment to asbestos sufferers and campaigners and may mean that some mesothelioma sufferers will face an anxious wait before finding out if the drug will be available.   The identity of the entities that have lodged the appeals cannot be divulged until the hearing.

However, campaigners have advised that mesothelioma patients should still contact their Primary Care Trusts (PCT’s) if they have been refused treatment.   See link to information from Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group.

Background

Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related cancer that affects the lining around the lungs (the pleura) and certain other organs such as the peritoneum. There is no cure for mesothelioma.  Radical surgery is available to a limited number of eligible patients. The condition can be difficult to diagnose and patients generally survive less than 18 months from diagnosis.  The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos. Mesothelioma often occurs 30 to 40 years after asbestos exposure, with no upper time limit.  Although mesothelioma is an occupational disease, victims include teachers, nurses, doctors, shop workers and family members of people who have worked with asbestos.

John Pickering and Partners LLP
John Pickering and Partners LLP is a specialist legal practice that has represented Claimants in the leading asbestos "test cases" in the last ten years. The firm represented Sylvia Barker in Barker v Corus (UK) Plc, a case that highlighted the legal tactics of employers and insurers trying to cut back their compensation liabilities to mesothelioma sufferers, and which prompted the amendment of the Compensation Act 2006 to ensure full compensation for mesothelioma claims. The firm represented two of the three Claimants in the Fairchild appeal, in which the insurance industry tried unsuccessfully to block compensation altogether for mesothelioma sufferers unable to identify which of two or more sources of asbestos exposure had caused their illness.

The firm represented Alice Jefferson, a mesothelioma sufferer, whose illness and compensation claim against Cape Asbestos were featured in the important documentary "Alice: A Fight For Life."   Shown by Yorkshire Television in July 1982, the programme was an important catalyst for legal change and public awareness of the plight of the victims of asbestos.

If you need advice about an asbestos related illness, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.

Further information:
Kevin Johnson, Partner
John Pickering and Partners LLP
19 Castle Street
Liverpool
L2 4SX

Telephone: 0151 227 1214

E-mail: kj@johnpickering.co.uk
Website: www.johnpickering.co.uk

FREEPHONE: 0800 854201