David Willetts, minister of science, yesterday confirmed on the Today programme that the science budget will be cut. Although I don’t agree with this policy, I was not surprised. The decision has been widely trailed, with most university departments quietly bracing themselves for this outcome.
Once again NICE, the NHS rationing ‘quango’, has been in the news with its decision not to recommend the Roche manufactured drug Avastin for metastatic bowel cancer. The roots of the decision and the history between Roche and NICE go back a bit further though.
Cancer – and particularly Breast Cancer – has become a political football with questions being asked over whether very large increases in investment by the last government have led to better results. This morning the BBC and other news sourcestest
During the election campaign the Conservative Party frequently highlighted the issue of cancer drug rationing including David Cameron himself during the leaders’ debates.
The Tory manifesto says infections like MRSA now kill more than three times as many people as are killed on the roads, yet the statistics say otherwise.
In the leaders’ debate, David Cameron used an anecdote to highlight his cancer drug policy. But his policy would push up drug prices and reduce value for money.
