Thousands of people with an aggressive form of arthritis will be condemned to a life of misery after the health watchdog rejected an appeal over a new drug, a charity has said.
The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) said its appeal had failed over the drug abatacept (Orencia) for the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has decided that abatacept is not cost effective and should not be recommended on the NHS.
Around 400,000 people in the UK have rheumatoid arthritis, of which 10% (40,000) have a severe form of the disease.
They can be offered a class of drugs called anti-TNFs but around 30% of people will not derive any benefit from those.
The drug's manufacturer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, submitted evidence to Nice showing that around 3,585 patients in the UK would be eligible for treatment with abatacept.
Ailsa Bosworth, chief executive of NRAS, said: "We are bitterly disappointed that Nice has ignored our appeals to approve the use of abatacept for people with severe rheumatoid arthritis, a therapy that could really make a difference to their lives.
"In rejecting our appeals they have condemned people with severe rheumatoid arthritis, who have already failed on other therapies, to a lifetime of misery.
"For many patients abatacept provides their last chance of controlling the disease. Without this drug, people with severe rheumatoid arthritis will have to return to medicines they have already failed on or will have to take large doses of steroids which are associated with extremely unacceptable side effects. We believe this is a perverse and very short sighted decision by Nice.
"Palliative care and the burden of ongoing disability associated with severe rheumatoid arthritis will result in much greater costs for the NHS than a clinically proven treatment which can make a significant difference to the quality of life of people with severe rheumatoid arthritis."