On 30 October 2006, Dr Brian Gibbons, Health Minister for Wales, announced an additional ?700,000 funding for the beta interferons and glatiramer acetate. This should help to ensure that everyone with MS who lives in Wales and meets the prescribing criteria will be able to start treatment as soon as possible.
The ?700,000 is additional to the existing annual allocation for Disease Modifying Therapies (DMTs) of ?2.5million. The additional funds will be given to the hospitals that treat Welsh MS patients. This will help to ensure that all MS patients who are eligible for DMTs under the criteria set by the Association of British Neurologists can start treatment at the earliest opportunity.
Dr Gibbons said: “The demand for DMTs in Wales has increased beyond anticipated levels. It is because of this that I am announcing a further ?700,000 to support people with MS in Wales.
“This decision has been reached after careful consideration of all issues relating to the provision of Disease Modifying Therapies for MS. This money will help patients who will really benefit from this treatment to start receiving it soon.
“We have considered a number of options to help resolve the growing difficulties associated with supplying DMTs to MS patients in Wales. We have decided that this additional money will be accompanied by a review of the latest evidence and research findings on managing and treating MS together with an assessment of the future epidemiological trends in MS in Wales.”
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. It is the most frequent cause of neurological disability in young adults, and it is characterised by chronic relapse and disease progression. There is no effective cure for MS, however a group of drugs, which includes Beta Interferon and Glatiramer Acetate, known as the disease modifying therapies (DMTs) are aimed at reducing the number and severity of relapses and slowing disease progression.
On the balance of clinical and cost effectiveness, neither beta interferon nor glatriamer acetate were recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis in the NHS in England and Wales. The MS Risk Sharing Scheme was however established in 2002 following an invitation by NICE for the Department of Health, the Welsh Assembly Government and manufacturers to consider what actions could be taken to enable Disease Modifying Therapies (DMTs) for MS to be provided in a cost effective way and appraised over a ten year period.