Sanofi Aventis’ Taxotere not to be available for Scots NHS patients, but company sales up

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has ruled that Taxotere (docetaxel) has not proved its cost-effectiveness for treating men with prostate cancer and so will not be available on the NHS is Scotland.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer in Scottish men after lung cancer and affects one in 15 men in Scotland, killing around1,000 every year.

A statement from the SMC said: “The SMC advises NHS boards and area drug and therapeutic committees (ADTCs) that docetaxel in combination with prednisolone is not recommended for use within NHS Scotland for the treatment of patients with metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer (MHRPC).”

Adding: “The cost-effectiveness of docetaxel for MHRPC has not been demonstrated.”

The England and Wales drugs medicines regulator, The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), has scheduled an appraisal for Taxotere for treatment of prostate cancer in 2006.

The news comes as Sanofi Aventis released its third quarter results showing sales of the Taxotere had increased 13.8 per cent globally to ???420 million, and up 26.8 per cent in Europe.

Total net sales for the French pharmaceuticals firm were up 10.5 per cent at ???20,304 million. Net sales of its top 15 products, including Texotere, rose by 16.7 per cent to ???12,076 million, representing 63.9 per cent of pharmaceuticals net sales

For the nine months to September 2005 gross consolidated profits for the company stood at ???15,508 million.

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