Up to 1,200 sufferers of myeloma, a rare blood cancer, will find out next week whether a drug that can prolong life by three years will be licensed in Scotland.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium will on Monday decide whether or not to approve the use of the thalidomide-based drug Revlimid. The drug is already licensed in England.

The decision by the consortium had been due in April but was delayed when the organisation failed to consider a submission from the support charity Myeloma UK.

Eric Low, the chief executive of the charity, said: “Should they say no to the drug, it is serious stuff for us. There is so much at stake and it will leave so many Scottish patients at a serious disadvantage. We are the only country in Europe where the patients with myeloma don't have access to the two most important treatments.”

Revlimid (lenalidomide) is described as the “granddaughter” of thalidomide. Thalidomide, which was marketed in the late 1950s as a treatment for morning sickness but caused babies to be born with damaged limbs, is now returning as an effective anti-cancer treatment despite concern from campaigners.

One sufferer who has benefited from thalidomide is Fred Edwards, the former director of social work at Strathclyde Regional Council, now widely respected for his work with voluntary organisations and the environment. Professor Edwards, 76, said that myeloma had been diagnosed two-and-a-half years ago. After initial chemotherapy, he went on to thalidomide as a maintenance drug.

Last year he was invited to be part of a six-month trial of Revlimid and went into remission as a result.

“With myeloma there is no cure as such,” he said. “But I had a very good period of remission and went to South-East Asia twice to pursue some of my interests with the environment. I also managed to complete a lot of my work on the Crofting Inquiry.”

Data presented at the annual meeting of the British Society for Haematology showed that patients taking Revlimid for the treatment of multiple myeloma experience a significant survival gain. On average, patients had nearly three extra years of life when the drug was combined with another one, high-dose dexamethasone.In Scotland there are about 240 new cases of myeloma a year. Revlimid costs about £4,300 a month.

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