The Telegraph
Dying patients could be given access to untested medicines from early next year after the Government and doctors gave their backing to a bill proposed by Lord Saatchi.
Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, has now thrown his department's weight behind the Medical Innovation Bill which will make it easier for doctors to try out new treatments on patients without the fear of being sued.
The Bill – which has sharply divided the medical profession – has also received tentative backing from the General Medical Council, which earlier this year come out firmly against any change in the law, and a leading cancer charity.
The legislation was proposed by Lord Saatchi, the advertising magnate, who started to campaign on the issue after his wife Josephine Hart died from ovarian cancer.
Lord Saatchi told The Telegraph that the principle of allowing new drugs to be tested on desperately ill people was already being applied in the case of Ebola victims in Africa.
Maurice Saatchi was inspired to fight to improve cancer care following the death of his wife, Josephine Hart
He said: “In dealing with the deadly Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organisation has decided that departure from standard evidence-based treatment is fully justified and essential.
“It has set ethical guidelines for the use of new therapies and interventions - they are identical to the provisions of the Medical Innovation Bill.”
Supporters said the plans – which could be law by March if MPs and peers agree – will allow victims of rare cancers to volunteer to be treated with untried drugs.
Cutting out the need for years of clinical trials will bring down the cost of the medicine and may make pharmaceutical firms more likely to fund experimental drugs that only help a small number of people with rare diseases.
