SMC approves Biogen s Vumerity for patients with multiple sclerosis pmlive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pmlive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Following authorisation from Britain s medicines watchdog, doctors hope the pill, diroximel fumarate - brand name Vumerity - could provide more sufferers the opportunity to control their condition.
Hundreds of thousands of British multiple sclerosis patients are to benefit from a DIY drug infusion that they can administer in their own home.
The monthly jab goes into the leg, arm or stomach using a device, similar to the EpiPen carried by severe allergy sufferers.
In trials, the drug, Kesimpta, more than halved the number of relapses. It means many MS patients who are vulnerable to Covid-19 infection no longer need to make regular trips to hospital.
Drugs watchdog the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, which has backed the use of Kesimpta in England, says doctors can even put newly diagnosed MS sufferers on it straight away. Delivering it as early as possible will slow progression of the disease, which often leaves patients disabled, and radically improves their quality of life.