I hear exactly what you are saying. How long do you plan on taking Sprycel? What if it stops working for you?

Do you have a plan to get off the drugs?

Stem cell transplants are not a good option, but what do you think it is going to take to get you safely off of drugs and healthy?

What and when do you think a cure will come?

If a patient can’t tolerate Gleevac and none of the newer treatments are supplied, the only option is Interferon (BAD option for quality of life), or a stem cell transplant. The death percentage for those undergoing stem cell transplant is high. Most people on Interferon have a hard time working. So, the option is to take a person who likely could work and help ‘pay the bills’ and send them off to use a lowercost drug that will drag down the quality of life until they can’t work. OR… a stem cell transplant which will absolutely remove the patient from the working world for a long time and perhaps kill them in the process.

Can’t see where the outcomes research is proving the UK’s case. It just doesn’t add up.

Patients receiving paclitaxel and carboplatin had more occurrence of alopecia, fever and sensory neuropathy than patients receiving carboplatin alone. According to Dr. Peter Harper, leader of the ICON group, single-agent carboplatin might be regarded as the preferred treatment because of its better toxicity profile.

In the U.S., where the administration of platinum/Taxol had been much more profitable to the treating oncologist than single agent platinum, there had been the dogged insistance that platinum/Taxol remain the standard, despite clear lack of support for this position, based on the entirety of the clinical trials literature.

I have much empathy for patinets who need access to both Sprycel and Tasigna. But both of these drugs are very costly.

On the other hand, there are some excellent results in Europe from patients going on “combo” trials with Interferon and Gleevec and in some cases Interferon and Sprycel and Tasigna. Some of these patients are actually able to stop drugs and have achieved a long term drug free remission.

If Novartis and BMS were really inclined ot negotiate they would sit down and work out a deal to get as many patients off the drug as possible.

In the meantime the Pharma companies have fanned the fires and stirred up the patients. The patients are going after the governments demanding that these drugs be reimbursed. Do not get me wrong, these drugs should be reimbursed. THe patients should also be going after their government demanding wider access to combination trials that could lead to many of them getting off drugs - that would be a true win win solution.

Pharma is busy hoping patients will not see what the battle is really all about….

I hope the patient groups over there wake up before it is too late….

They will miss a golden opportunity to get off drugs….And they will be playing right into the hands of Pharma… BAD NEWS for all of them….

Ed, keep an eye on this…