Scots MS patients hope a new wonderdrug will change their lives after being approved by Scotland’s medicine watchdog.
Siponimod is the first therapy drug available for people with secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis – and although not a cure, it can stop the disease getting worse.
Yesterday the Scottish Medicines Consortium approved the drug for use in Scotland’s NHS – even though it was rejected for use in the NHS in England earlier this year.
Morna Simpkins, director of MS Society Scotland said: “This is a hugely important development for people diagnosed with secondary progressive MS in Scotland.
“We want every one of the 15,000 people in Scotland living with MS to have access to the right treatment at the right time and this decision takes us closer than ever to that goal.
“We’re driving research to find more and better treatments and calling for drug trials to more fully address the needs of everyone with MS, until the day we are able to stop it in its tracks.”
Gordon Hastie, 53, from Bearsden, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2003 and is now wheelchair bound with secondary progressive MS. Gordon and hundreds of others now have a chance at halting the disease’s progression.
Gordon said: “I have been on injections for 13 years but the injection sites are like leather now and the medication is not doing any good.
“Siponimod is taken in tablet form but it is an immuno suppressant so it is a gamble with Covid around. But it is a gamble I am prepared to take because things are getting worse.” Telling how the disease has progressed, Gordon said the first indication something was amiss was a loss of hearing in his left ear.
He said: “I thought it was payback for playing the drums for years. But a few weeks later my hearing came back. Then my face went numb down one side.
“I went to the doctor’s and he sent me for a scan. The consultant said there appeared to be an arachnid cyst under pressure but it turned out not to be that.
"Then my eyesight started to go peculiar and I had more numbness, this time down my legs.”
This time he was sent for a lumbar puncture and MRI scans which revealed he had MS.
His children Callum and Louise were just four and five when he was diagnosed and his condition impacted on their lives as well as that of his wife Lynne, 50.
He said: “The prospect of having a normal, everyday life is impossible and 17 years later the numbness has progressed. It has got worse and worse.
On hearing the news of Siponimod’s approval yesterday, Gordon said: “I am delighted. I have an appointment with my MS nurse, so I will be discussing my options with her then.
“Fingers crossed it keeps me on my feet as long as possible.”
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “Being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis is devastating for all those affected and we are committed to supporting and continually improving patient care. While this medicine isn’t a cure, it can slow the progression of the disease.”
