A NEW drug which is the first available tablet for early stage multiple sclerosis has been approved for use on the NHS in Scotland.
More than 10,000 people in Scotland have the condition and the country has the among the highest rates of MS in the world. People with an active relapsing remitting form of MS have normally had to give themselves regular injections but the new treatment aims to block the action of the immune cells which cause damage to the brain and spinal cord through an oral tablet.
Aubagio, the trade name for teriflunomide, is the first pill to be made available for use in this way after being given approval by the Scottish Medicines Consortium. It became available in England and Wales last month.
Dr Belinda Weller, Consultant Neurologist at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, said: "MS is a real concern in Scotland as it is a debilitating disease which has a high prevalence. This is good news for people with MS in Scotland and a significant milestone in improving the care of MS patients here."
The drug is only for patients with early remitting relapsing MS, when the symptoms of the condition can fade away temporarily.
Stewart Long, Acting Director for the MS Society in Scotland, said: "We've been waiting a long time for a tablet to be available for early stage MS, so this is excellent news.
"As well as making another valuable treatment available for people with MS, many people will be delighted to have the option of a tablet rather than regular injections, which can be difficult to manage. MS is an unpredictable condition and it is vital that people have the treatments and support they need to take control of their lives.
"Today's decision marks an important development for many people living with MS in Scotland".
The SMC also approved dapagliflozin, under the name of Forxiga, as a treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes. It can help patients who are already on insulin to control their blood sugar levels and also lose weight.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article