NICE recommends siponimod for treating secondary progressive MS
pharmafile | October 15, 2020 | News story | Medical Communications |
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued draft guidance recommending siponimod for treating secondary progressive multiple sclerosis in adults with evidence of active disease.
This means that 11,000 people with this form of MS will now be eligible for treatment.
This recommendation came after Novartis provided an updated cost-effectiveness analysis to address earlier concerns raised by NICE. This included comparing siponimod with best supportive care and assuming that the effect of the treatment reduces through use over time. The company has also agreed a commercial agreement with NHS England and NHS Improvement which will make the drug available at a discounted price.
Meindert Boysen, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation at NICE, said: “We know there are currently few, if any treatments available for people with this form of MS, and that siponimod is a promising drug that has the potential to address this unmet clinical need. We are, therefore, pleased that the company has been able to address the issues identified by the committee in our earlier draft guidance so that people with this condition now have a further treatment option.”
Secondary progressive MS comes after relapsing remitting MS for many patients, and this form sees the disability get steadily worse with reduced chances of relapses.
John Stewart, NHS Director of Specialised Commissioning, said: “At the same time as NHS staff came together to fight a pandemic and treat over 110,000 severely ill hospitalised people for Covid-19, they also continued providing around the clock care for people with long-term conditions like multiple sclerosis, and this new deal provides patients with treatment hope for the first time in a decade.”
Conor Kavanagh
