Cuts proposed to MS treatment options

It cannot be right, it really can’t! People with multiple sclerosis are facing being denied access to five previously approved disease modifying therapies (DMTs). This shocking development would affect people who are newly diagnosed or those wishing to change to a different drug. The proposal to cut the number of treatment options comes in the …

MS therapy alemtuzumab is named a ‘rip-off’ drug, report

Pharmaceutical companies sell some MS disease modifying therapies (DMTs) at extortionate prices. Big pharma stands accused of setting prices to rip-off the public, and the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). Who’d have thought it? I am shocked (well, no, not really). One such drug labelled a rip-off, and used to treat multiple sclerosis, is alemtuzumab. It …

After Long Wait, Zinbryta Gains Approval in Areas of the UK

News that daclizumab, brand name Zinbryta, has been given the go-ahead to be available through the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) for treating relapsing MS, at least in part of the country, is good news. But why has the decision taken so long? Possibly, because the first decision, last September, was ‘no.’ The latest decision by …

New treatments may be available faster

People living in the UK could get faster access, through the country’s National Health Service (NHS), to what are described as ‘innovative’ new treatments following recommendations set out this week in the government’s Accelerated Access Review report, led by an independent chairman Sir Hugh Taylor.. This could include treatments for MS. The move does not …

New drugs to face affordability test

Proposed changes to the UK’s drug approval process should be the subject of an honest debate according the country’s Multiple Sclerosis Society. The changes will mean the National Health Service (NHS) in England will assess how much it can afford to pay for new drugs. Under the plan, new drugs that are expected to cost …

Just two weeks to fight for MS treatment

Anyone wishing to take issue with the draft recommendation to not make daclizumab1 (Zinbryta) be made available as a treatment on the NHS in England and Wales has just 15 days to do so. Comments must be received by Friday October 21. So, if you want a change of heart, don't delay. The time to …

HSCT free on the NHS – “ask us your questions” irresistible offer

Here’s some great news. Anyone who would like first-hand information about any aspect of getting HSCT free of charge from the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), you don’t need to look any further. Whether you want to know about the application process or details of the treatment itself, your questions can be answered. Three days ago, …

Free HSCT in the UK, here’s the NHS criteria

Since my story on Sunday about James Coates, who has Secondary Progressive MS, having HSCT free of charge on the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), I have been inundated with enquiries. Most have been concerned about whether they can qualify for treatment and, so, today I am going to set out the latest criteria that …

James Received HSCT Free, as He Lives in the UK

Virtually all the talk about availability of HSCT1 as an MS treatment includes the need to travel long distances to other countries, but UK residents can receive the treatment in London, avoiding the journey overseas. What’s more, it is provided through the country’s social National Health Service (NHS) so, like all NHS medical care, patients are given …

MS Patients in US and UK Face Very Different Treatment

We may have international cooperation and worldwide this and that, but the fact remains that countries vary drastically from one another in all sorts of ways. Take healthcare as an example, and the costs of treatment. Yes, we have the World Health Organization and there are various health-related initiatives from the United Nations, but that is …