Health watchdog approves first ever treatment for progressive form of MS in ...

A breakthrough multiple sclerosis drug will be available on the NHS after officials reversed their previous decision to reject it.

NHS rationing watchdog NICE turned down ocrelizumab last September, sparking fury among campaigners and a 21,000-strong petition.

It is the first ever drug to be shown to treat primary progressive MS – a form of the condition which affects around 15,000 people in Britain.

NICE said the £9,600 price tag for each six-monthly dose – £19,200 per patient per year – was too expensive for the benefits it provides.

The MS Society launched a campaign putting pressure on the watchdog, NHS England and manufacturer Roche to find a deal to make the drug available on the NHS.

Eight months later a deal between the three parties has been struck and ocrelizumab will be made available on the NHS in England.

Zoe Bowman, 43, from Crystal Palace, was diagnosed with primary progressive form of MS in 2017. She said the new drug gives her a 'glimmer of hope for the future'

Zoe Bowman, 43, from Crystal Palace, was diagnosed with primary progressive form of MS in 2017. She said the new drug gives her a 'glimmer of hope for the future'

Genevieve Edwards, director of external affairs at the MS Society, said: 'This is a landmark moment and an incredible victory for the more than 21,000 of us who helped overturn this result.

'We now want to see everyone who could benefit from ocrelizumab being able to access it, with increased support for MS services to make sure this happens.

'Right now however there isn't enough evidence to show ocrelizumab can work for everyone, and we know the restrictions will be a massive blow for those who still don't have any options.

'We're driving research to find more and better treatments, and calling for drug trials to more fully address the needs of everyone with MS, until the day we are able to stop it in its tracks.'

MS is the most common disabling neurological condition, affecting around 100,000 people in the UK. Around 650 each year are diagnosed with the primary progressive form.

Ocrelizumab is the first and only treatment that can slow disability progression in this type of MS, where symptoms gradually worsen over time.

Ocrelizumab, which was tested in hospitals across the UK in a huge clinical trial four years ago, saw the progress of the disease slowed by 24 per cent over just 12 weeks.

Experts believe it delays the need for a wheelchair by an average of seven years.

It is licensed for early primary progressive MS, which is defined by how long someone has lived with MS symptoms, their level of disability, and MRI scans showing inflammatory activity.

Ms Bowman's sister Vikki Langford (pictured), 52, has relapsing remitting MS. She said the news 'sends a message that people with primary progressive MS matter and they equally deserve treatments and care'

Ms Bowman's sister Vikki Langford (pictured), 52, has relapsing remitting MS. She said the news 'sends a message that people with primary progressive MS matter and they equally deserve treatments and care'

MS, which affects twice as many women as men, causes loss of mobility, sight problems, tiredness and excruciating pain.

The disease either become progressively worse with age or strikes in brutal, periodic relapses – with many people left relying on wheelchairs.

The condition is caused when the body's immune system malfunctions, and instead of warding off diseases turns instead to attack the body's own nerves.

Certain immune cells, called B-cells, attack myelin, the protective sheath surrounding nerve fibres.

The ocrelizumab treatment slows down this process by stopping the B-cells from attacking the myelin.

Ms Langford (pictured with her daughter Chloe and sister Zoe) said it was 'awful' knowing she had a world of treatment choices at her fingertips, yet her sister had none

 Ms Langford (pictured with her daughter Chloe and sister Zoe) said it was 'awful' knowing she had a world of treatment choices at her fingertips, yet her sister had none 

The drug, taken as an intravenous drip every six months, has already been approved by 65 other countries around the world, with more than 50,000 people having been treated globally.

Zoe Bowman and Vikki Langford are sisters who were diagnosed with MS within weeks of each other.

Ms Bowman, 43, from Crystal Palace, south London, was diagnosed with MS in December 2016.

Almost a year later she

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