Drug that could slow down progress of MS ‘should be offered on NHS’

Treatment path: George Hornby says the drug could be “a game-changer”
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A former City banker with multiple sclerosis is among 21,000 people campaigning for the first drug that could delay patients’ need for a wheelchair to be available on the NHS.

George Hornby, 48, of Herne Hill, was diagnosed with the condition’s primary progressive form in 2002.

The father of two, who uses a wheelchair because he’s too weak to walk, told the Standard: “I won’t take this drug and start walking again, but for thousands of newly diagnosed people it will be a game-changer.”

In September, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) rejected ocrelizumab for use to treat primary progressive MS (PPMS).

This was despite research finding it could slow the progression of the ­disease for those with PPMS and could also delay the need for a wheelchair by seven years.

Nice found the drug was not cost-effective for the benefits it could bring to people with PPMS — about 10 to 15 per cent of the 100,000 with the disease in the UK — whose symptoms worsen over time. The drug was, however, approved for treating relapsing MS where it was considered more effective.

The MS Society’s Treat Me Right campaign is calling for ocrelizumab to be offered on the NHS to people with PPMS. It is being backed by celebrities, doctors and cross-party politicians.

The drug company Roche has offered ocrelizumab at a lower price to the NHS to treat those with PPMS because it was considered less cost-effective than for treating relapsing MS, but Department of Health rules mean it cannot accept drugs at different costs depending on what is being treated.

Ocrelizumab can be paid for privately at a cost of at least £19,000 a year — ­simply too expensive for most people.

Mr Hornby added: “It’s not a cure but is the only treatment path. Nice should make an exception for us as they do for some patients with acute cancer.

“The cost of the drug cannot be compared to savings to the social care budget that comes with delaying disability by seven years.”

Nice said its decision on ocrelizumab is currently paused while talks take place between Roche and the NHS.

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