Paul Workman

Cancer's ability to adapt, evolve and become drug-resistant is the cause of the vast majority of deaths from the disease and the biggest challenge we face in overcoming it.

The answer today is the right one, but I would urge NICE to implement the planned overhaul of its drug appraisal processes as soon as possible to avoid repeated delays in getting the best, most innovative treatments to patients.

Recently we have seen drug companies setting very high prices for promising immunotherapies, including nivolumab, there is no question that this pioneering and innovative treatment improves and extends the life of patients with non-small cell lung cancer – a disease that has very limited treatment options – but at this price it is very clearly too expensive.

While innovative drugs should command relatively higher prices, the overall cost of treatment must be affordable.