Scottish patients denied 'Lockerbie bomber' drug Dr Harpal Kumar, chief executive at Cancer Research UK, which helped develop the drug said patients and doctors "value the extra months of life it can give." He added: "We need to find a way for it to be routinely available through the NHS." He said the charity was "hugely frustrated" that Janssen, the drug's manufacturer, could not offer a price the SMC considered good value and hoped a revised offer would emerge. There are no other treatments available for men with advanced prostate cancer that has returned after chemotherapy and it has also been shown to reduce pain. Jackson Carlaw, Scottish Tory health spokesman, said the SMC decision was "misguided" and makes a "mockery" of Nicola Sturgeon's claims about the Scottish NHS's superiority. "It is shameful that Mr Megrahi was sent home not so much 'to die' but to benefit from a life extending drug men in Scotland are to be refused," he said. The refusal came after the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the SMC's equivalent in England and Wales, issued draft guidance last month stating the drug was too expensive. However, some English patients will be able to access abiraterone through the Coalition Government's Cancer Drugs Fund, which the SNP has refused to copy. The treatment is currently available in Wales and will remain so until NICE issues its final guidance. Abiraterone tablets costs £2,735 for a month's supply and £35,551 for a year. Janssen estimated that 115 NHS patients in Scotland would be eligible for the treatment in the first year of introduction at a total cost of £2.54 million, including the price of prednisone. These figures were projected to increase to 205 and £4.5 million respectively for year five, an average of £21,951 per patient. A SMC spokesman said the organisation was "disappointed" at not being able to recommend the drug. He said it was "clear" the drug did not offer value for money and Janssen has advised it will make another submission. In the meantime, health boards can accept individual requests for the medication in "special circumstances." The Scottish Executive said the process for appraising new medicines is "robust and transparent" and operates independently from ministers.