Britain rejects arthritis drug

LONDON, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Britain's National Health Service has rejected the drug abatacept for severe arthritis sufferers because the cost is too high.

The National Institute for Clinical Effectiveness said the drug, marketed under the name Orencia, is effective but its price -- more than $19,000 per person per year -- is too expensive, The Independent said Friday.

Britain's National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society said 3,500 patients would qualify for the treatment.

"Whatever the price, we are talking about so few people who will now have nowhere else to go except back on to treatments which have already failed," said NRAS director Lynn Love.