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NICE Reconsiders Fingolimod for MS

British drug regulator NICE has overturned its initial rejection of drug fingolimod due to cost concerns

by Kathy Jones on March 18, 2012 at 12:28 AM

British drug regulator National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has overturned its initial rejection of drug fingolimod due to cost concerns and said that it can be used to treat people with highly active relapsing multiple sclerosis.


The drug, sold under the brand name Gilenya by Novartis, has an annual cost of �20,000 per patient and analysts believe that it could help thousands of patients with relapsing MS with recent studies showing that it can reduce the number of relapses by as much as 60 percent.

Stating that the drug was a cost effective option for NHS, Professor Carole Longson, Director of the Health Technology Evaluation Centre at NICE said, "Following new information provided during the consultation, the analyses show that for these people, treatment with fingolimod will be a cost effective option for the NHS in this group of people with multiple sclerosis, if Novartis provides the drug at a discounted price, as proposed in its patient access scheme."




Source: Medindia

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