05.08.11
NICE rejects pill for Multiple Sclerosis
A new pill to treat Multiple Sclerosis (MS), known as Gilenya, has been denied endorsement by the NICE.
NICE decided against recommending payment by the NHS for the pill due to a lack of clarity about its effectiveness and expense.
The drug was developed by company Novartis, and was tested last year. Results of the trial showed that Gilenya halved the number of disabled relapses when compared with the traditional treatment, interferon beta.
However, this was found in patients with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), which is only one sub-group for which the drug is licensed. The pill also needs to be clinically effective in adults with rapidly-evolving severe RRMS who experience two or more disabling relapses regardless of their treatment.
Director of the health technology evaluation centre at NICE, Professor Carole Longson, said: "Unfortunately, our independent committee wasn't given sufficient evidence to show that fingolimod (Gilenya) could reduce relapses considerably better than the other treatments currently being used.
"Based on the available clinical evidence and economic analysis, our independent committee concluded that fingolimod would not be effective good use of NHS resources."
Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the MS Society, said: "We’re concerned at how this decision has been reached and now strongly encourage NICE and Novartis to work together to look at how the treatment can be better re-considered and evaluated.”
"It will leave some people with no effective treatment option."
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