Author: Selina McKee

It was good news for Spanish drugmaker PharmaMar this week after cost regulators changed track and gave a green light to its soft tissue sarcoma drug Yondelis for use on the National Health Service.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has asked Roche to provide more evidence on RoActemra to help it decide whether the drug has a place in the National Health Service for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Priorities for the NHS during the year ahead as laid out in the operating framework remain largely unchanged from previous years, but the NHS needs to start planning for a tough financial climate ahead, the DH says.

Cost regulators have closed the door to Eli Lilly’s Alimta as a maintenance treatment for non-small cell lung cancer on the National Health Service, after deeming the drug too costly for use in this setting.

Sir Liam Donaldson will resign as Chief Medical Officer in May next year after 12 years of service, after original plans for his retirement earlier this year were put on hold amid the potential swine flu crisis.