Drug company Novo Nordisk’s decision to pull its Mixtard 30 insulin drug from the UK could add £9 million to the NHS drugs bill in England alone, an editorial in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) has warned.
The decision could also leave thousands of patients dependent on others to help them take their insulin, says DTB, which has recently launched its 'Don’t Drop Mixtard 30' campaign.
In late June Novo Nordisk announced its intention to withdraw its only conventional human biphasic insulin, Mixtard 30, from the UK market by the end of the year, citing commercial reasons. The move will affect an estimated 90,000 patients across all age groups with type 1 and 2 diabetes who require insulin treatment.
Guidelines on the care of patients with diabetes, including those issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), recommend human biphasic insulin as the treatment of choice for these groups. There are alternative biphasic analogue insulins, but these are all more expensive.
'Assuming a direct swap to Novo Nordisk’s analogue biphasic insulin, NovoMix 30, the increased prescribing costs could be over £9 million in England alone,' the bulletin states.
'This is quite apart from the extra resources needed to review patients, to discuss and decide on alternative treatments, and the disruption and concern such changes may cause for affected individuals,' it continues.
The withdrawal also means that biphasic insulin will no longer be available in the ergonomic InnoLet device, which 'could therefore leave many users who have poor eyesight or reduced manual dexterity, dependent on others for their insulin administration'.
Commenting on the plans, DTB editor, Dr Ike Iheanacho said, 'The decision to remove Mixtard 30 will cause huge disruption and anxiety for people with diabetes, not least because it might take months to switch successfully to another form of insulin. And at a time of tight budgetary constraint, the added costs inherent in this move are an unwelcome blow for the NHS.'
DTB has set up an online petition at www.dtb.bmj.com to protest Novo Nordisk’s decision.