Digital health editor, BBC News
Getty ImagesThousands of NHS patients in England with multiple sclerosis (MS) will soon be offered a “take at home” tablet to manage their condition, sparing them hospital visits for injections or infusions.
Cladribine can help people with the active relapsing-remitting version of the disease, as well as more severe, highly active MS, for which it is already used, says drug advisory body NICE.
Broadening access to the drug should give more patients freedom from hospital and free up clinic time, say experts.
The NHS is the first healthcare system in Europe to roll out the treatment.
NICE is expected to issue final guidance for England in April, with access in Wales and Northern Ireland likely to follow. Scotland is also considering it.
There are more than 150,000 people living with MS – a condition that affects the brain and spinal cord – in the UK.
Although it cannot currently be cured, treatment can slow the disease and ease symptoms.
Trials show cladribine can reduce the number and severity of relapses.
The drug targets certain immune cells involved in inflammation and myelin damage in MS.
It is given in two treatment courses, 12 months apart, which would mean patients would take about 20 tablets at home.
The list price is around £2,000 per tablet, but it is not clear how much the NHS is paying since it can negotiate discounts with drug companies.
It is estimated about 2,000 patients could be offered the treatment over the first three years.
Clare ElgarClare Elgar, 37, from Southampton, has taken cladribine for her relapsing MS, which was diagnosed in January 2021 after experiencing loss of function in her right arm and numbness across her face.
Clare says: “Being able to take the treatment at home meant I could maintain my day-to-day routine and not have to travel to hospital. I’m thrilled that the new criteria will now give others like me the opportunity to benefit from this life-changing medication.”
Laura Thomas, head of policy at the MS Society, said: “This decision could particularly benefit people who’d struggle to go into hospital regularly, like younger working-age adults.”
It will also benefit patients considering starting a family, as it’s safe to get pregnant six months after the final course of treatment – which is less restrictive than many other options – according to Ms Thomas.
“We’re so glad that more people with MS will now be able to choose an effective treatment which suits their lifestyle.”
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