Thousands of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been 'snubbed' by the decision not to make a drug available on the NHS, health campaigners have said.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has issued draft guidance on the drug abatacept (Orencia), in which it insists the drug is not cost-effective.
A spokesman for the health watchdog said that Nice has recently recommended a different drug, rituximab, for RA and that abatacept would cost "about twice as much as rituximab but offers similar benefits".
"While recognising the severity of the disease, the committee concluded that based on this evidence, abatacept could not be considered a good use of NHS resources," the spokesman explained.
However, the news has dismayed health campaigners, with the charity Arthritis Care describing the decision as a "snub to thousands of people".
Spokeswoman Jane Spence said: "The fact that the new-generation drug rituximab (MabThera) was approved recently doesn't mean that all people failed by [other drugs] will be suitable for it.
"Abatacept was a bright, new hope for them, and to put it beyond their reach will seem catastrophic."
Many people with RA, a disease in which joints in the body become inflamed, find that they benefit from natural remedies such as cod liver oil, evening primrose oil and certain vitamins, although none of these offer a cure for the disease.
Thousands of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been 'snubbed' by the decision not to make a drug available on the NHS, health campaigners have said.
