All patients in Scotland with the most common form of leukaemia now have access to MabThera (rituximab).



Scotland is the first country in the UK to make the drug available to chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patients after the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) extended its recommendation.



MabThera can now be used by NHS patients with relapsed and refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in combination with any suitable chemotherapy.



The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is expected to give guidance for the drug's use in the rest of the UK in April this year.



Last month, the results of Phase III clinical trials conducted by Roche revealed that MabThera prolongs the life of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.



Over 87 per cent of patients involved in the trials who received the drug as well as chemotherapy were alive for more than three years, compared to 82.5 per cent of patients who received just chemotherapy.feeds.directnews.co.uk />




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