Abiraterone is a new type of hormone therapy for men with advanced prostate cancer that has stopped responding to other hormone therapy and chemotherapy treatments.

Studies on abiraterone show that it can prolong the life of men in the final stages of prostate cancer by an average of about 4 months, [1] and improve the quality of their lives. We believe that the drug is one of the biggest breakthroughs in the treatment of the disease for many years. It offers men the possibility of extending their lives at a time when there are no other available treatment options, except those that just control the symptoms of the disease. In our view it should be made routinely available to men on the NHS throughout the UK.

[1] Abiraterone and Increased Survival in Metastatic Prostate Cancer. Johann S. De Bono, et.al The New England Journal of Medicine Vol 364 No 21 May 2011

The NHS in England and Wales should begin to fund abiraterone within 3 months of the publication of NICE's decision in May 2012.

In its draft decision published in January 2012, NICE accepted that abiraterone can extend the life of men in the final stages of prostate cancer. They also acknowledged that it can improve a man's quality of life by reducing symptoms, including pain and fatigue. However, NICE argued that abiraterone was too expensive for the NHS to routinely pay for.

The Charity challenged this draft decision. We argued that abiraterone should be categorised as an 'end of life' drug. This category was introduced in 2009 to allow NICE to approve more expensive drugs for people with incurable diseases who are reaching the end of their lives. Our call has been backed by politicians from all parties.

Following NICE's draft decision, abiraterone's manufacturer also offered to increase the price discount it was willing to give to the NHS.

In its May decision, NICE agreed that abiraterone should be treated as an 'end of life' drug and made available on the NHS - provided that it was offered at the full discount suggested by the manufacturer.

In Scotland, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has issued a decision in March 2012 saying that they do not recommend that the costs of abiraterone treatment should be routinely paid for by the NHS in Scotland.

However, abiraterone's manufacturer has now resubmitted its application to the SMC with the offer of a reduced price to the NHS. The SMC's final decision is expected in August 2012.

Read more about access to abiraterone in Scotland.