Calls for Gilenya to be made available in Ireland
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 1:24 am
The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland (MS Ireland) has called on the government to make available in Ireland a controversial drug that it believes would much more effectively treat some forms of the disease.
The call, echoed by the drug’s manufacturer, follows the decision by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK to recommend that the drug, fingolimod - known by its brand name Gilenya - , be available on the National Health Service (NHS) for some patients with a form of MS.
It comes less than two months after a European Agency opened an investigation in to whether the medicine played a role in the deaths of at least 11 patients. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is due to give an update on the safety of the medicine next month, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Department of Health said that the matter was being considered by the Health Service Executive (HSE) which said that it expects “a significant budget impact with this product” if its use in treatment could be reimbursed under the High Tech Drug Scheme as MS Ireland wants.... Read More - http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuseact ... ageid/1309