Calls to approve ‘life-changing’ drug

Patients with the most severe form of a genetic condition could lose the ability to move, breath and swallow unless a “life-changing” treatment is approved for use on the NHS in Scotland, according to a charity.

Muscular Dystrophy UK says that Spinraza is the first and only treatment for patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Without access to it, life expectancy for those with SMA type 1 is rarely longer than two years, campaigners warn.