SCOTS SUFFERING from severe asthma are set to be denied a new drug - which has the potential to transform their lives - because it is too expensive for the NHS.

The drug, called Xolair, is designed for those with severe, persistent asthma that cannot be controlled by standard treatments. Clinical trials have shown it can reduce hospital admissions for sufferers by nearly half.

Health chiefs are due to make a decision tomorrow on whether it should be made available on the NHS, following an appeal after they turned it down it on the grounds of cost last year.

Campaigners believe the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), which advises the health service on what treatments can be used, is set to reject Xolair for a second time.

Asthma affects around 5.2 million people in the UK, but for up to half a million patients its symptoms cannot be controlled by medications in current use. Donna Covey, chief executive of patient group Asthma UK, said that Xolair could offer a vast improvement in quality of life for some patients with the most severe form of asthma.

"We are talking about people who have more than 20 hospital admissions a year in some cases, whose asthma is so bad they can't work, they can't even walk upstairs," she said.

"It is the difference, for example, between being able to hold down a job and not being able to hold down a job, or being able to play with their kids and not being able to play with their kids.

"It doesn't work for everyone, but for the people that it does, it makes such a difference."

Xolair, which is also known as omalizumab, is given as an injection every two to four weeks for asthma which is severe, persistent and allergic. It works by blocking the antibody immunoglobulin E (IgE), which is involved in the allergic process of asthma. Trials have shown it can reduce hospital admissions for patients by 47% and their number of asthma attacks by up to 55%.

However, a major stumbling block is the price, with the cost for an average patient working out at around £12,000 a year. The equivalent drugs rationing body in England, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), is also expected to make a decision on Xolair this year.

Covey acknowledged that it was an expensive treatment, but pointed out it would be used for a relatively small number of patients.

She added: "We know that caring for people who experience an asthma attack because their asthma can't be managed well costs the health service three and a half times as much as treating and supporting someone with well-managed asthma.

"The financial cost of actually constantly providing healthcare support, including things like stays in intensive care on a regular basis, to people with poorly controlled asthma is huge."

Maria Murray of Asirus, a support group for people with asthma in rural Scotland, pointed out that patients living in rural areas could take hours to get to hospital following an asthma attack.

"If it Xolair can make a difference to a select group of people, then surely it is worth the cost?" she added.

The situation is the latest to highlight the difficulties over the rationing of expensive drugs on a limited NHS budget. New drugs that can reduce the devastating effects of multiple sclerosis and help treat brain cancer have also been rejected in the past year in Scotland on the grounds of cost.

A spokesman for the SMC confirmed that it expected to issue advice on Xolair to the NHS on Monday.