Drug victory for MS patients

THOUSANDS of multiple sclerosis patients will get a breakthrough drug after the NHS reversed a decision to reject it.

Experts believe around 2,700 people in England could now be eligible for the treatment – the first one ever shown to effectively treat primary progressive MS. This form of the disease affects 15,000 Britons.

It comes after NHS watchdog NICE last year said the £9,600 price tag per dose of Ocrelizumab ruled it out for routine use. But officials last night changed their minds after receiving a confidential discount from the manufacturer. It is believed the drug – taken every six months via an intravenous drip – delays a patient’s need for a wheelchair by an average of seven years.

Genevieve Edwards of the MS Society called the decision an ‘incredible victory’.