UK patients with very rare conditions to get access to drugs and services not previously available on the NHS, Health Minister announces

A small number of drugs and treatments for very rare conditions, that are not yet appropriate for the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) appraisal process, can now be considered for use in the National Health Service, UK Health Minister Mike O'Brien announced last Friday. This will help give patients with very rare and extremely rare conditions access to a wider range of drugs and services, he said.

Access to these drugs and services will be increased through two initiatives that are supported by patient groups, the NICE, the NHS and industry. These are:

' the creation of a three-year £25 million ($37.9 million) Innovation Pass pilot as outlined in the Office for Life Sciences (OLS) Blueprint - to help patients with rarer diseases access highly innovative new drugs which are not yet appraised by the NICE. A government notice of procurement will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union formally inviting expressions of interest for the pilot; and