THE National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the government's cost-effectiveness committee.
Herceptin was referred to the panel over a year ago so members could make the difficult judgement of whether it is necessary to add the drug to the NHS list or leave it obtainable only through private health care.
NICE was expected to grant approval for general release in July but this has been postponed until November while it reviews the evidence about using Herceptin on its own to tackle cancer.
The panel wants to be certain the drug warrants a £10 million per year investment -- which breaks down to £20,000 per patient annually.
And while critics say NICE is dragging its feet, the body was actually set up in 1999 to help tackle the postcode lottery of prescribing and speed up the implementation of clinically and cost-effective new treatments.
Alan Milburn, Secretary of State for Health, told parliament: "We do not know how many women are currently tested for the HER-2 marker, either on the National Health Service or privately.
"The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently assessing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of Herceptin and will publish guidance shortly.
"Charities, patient groups, health professionals and the pharmaceutical industry will all have had the opportunity to submit evidence to NICE during this process.
"Health authorities will be expected to meet the costs of positive recommendations from NICE from the £255 million available to them in 2001-02 for cancer services."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article