Arthritis Drug Gets NHS Approval

Patients with severe arthritis are to be given access to a new generation of drug on the NHS- a decision hailed by campaigners as a triumph. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has approved the so-called "smart" drug MabThera for prescription in England and Wales. The drug works by specifically targeting one of the key immune system cells involved in rheumatoid arthritis. It comes after a similar drug, Orencia, was ruled out for prescription.