In Scotland MS sufferers denied new pill treatment

The warning from campaigners came after the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), which is responsible for approving newly-licensed drugs, rejected fingolimod for the treatment of NHS patients with relapsing-remitting MS – the most common form of the condition.

It said the daily pill, which replaces injections for sufferers, does not offer value for money for the health service.

Clinical trials have found it is twice as likely to prevent relapses compared to beta-interferon, the most commonly prescribed MS drug available on the NHS.

However, MS Society Scotland said the decision would “leave some people with no effective treatment option”.

Director Patricia Gordon said: “Access to MS treatments in the UK is very poor and our hope is that the SMC and Novartis [the drug’s manufacturer] can work together to make this treatment available to the people who need it. We will continue to campaign for improved access to treatments for all people with MS.”

Neurologist Dr Belinda Weller, of the Western General in Edinburgh, the principal investigator for the Scottish branch of the trial, said: “I want to have the best options for my patients and there is a huge unmet need for an oral form of medication. Seven of the eight patients in the Edinburgh trial were very enthusiastic about its effects.”

Fingolimod is widely available in Europe, the US and Canada, with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) due to issue its guidance on the drug to the NHS south of the Border this week.

Scotland has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, thought to be due to a combination of genetic factors and vitamin D deficiencies.