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The time taken between drug trials and Government approval for medications must be speeded up, the husband of charity fundraiser Jane Tomlinson claims.
Mike Tomlinson also believes that provisional licensing should be considered for cancer drugs which have already been licensed for use in other countries.
His wife Jane, 43, a NHS radiographer, had cancer for seven years before finally succumbing to the disease in September this year.
The mother-of-three raised more than £1.75m for charity in gruelling endurance events including three London Marathons, despite her condition.
Mr Tomlinson said ministers have to do more to ensure there is equal access to drugs which may not have been nationally approved.
“Jane saw the real problem as being the time taken between the drug trials and the licensing,” Mr Tomlinson said.
“There is so much money spent on research and then a halt before licensing.
All Jane wanted was fair access to life-extending drugs.”
He added: “The system is not fair if it depends on where you live as to whether you get access to drugs or not.”
The deputy medical director of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Dr Phil Ayres, said recently: “We support Jane and Mike’s views that we need a debate about access to drugs that have not yet been licensed or nationally approved.”
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Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
