2 New Treatments for Relapsing-Remitting MS Now Available in New Zealand

Patricia Silva, PhD avatar

by Patricia Silva, PhD |

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The Multiple Sclerosis Society of New Zealand (MSNZ)Ā announced thatĀ PHARMAC has agreed with its requestĀ toĀ finance two novel first-in-line therapies for relapsing-remitting forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), making them accessible to patients there.

PHARMAC recently agreed to fund theĀ two treatments, teriflunomide (Aubagio), supplied by Sanofi-Aventis NZ, and dimethyl fumarate (Tecfidera), provided by Biogen NZ. Both medicines will be availableĀ in the community and District Health Board (DHB) Hospitals, with the same restrictions as the MS drugs fingolimod (Gilenya) and natalizumab (Tysabri), whichĀ PHARMAC granted access to in 2014.Ā PHARMAC is the government agency responsible for decidingĀ which pharmaceuticals will beĀ publicly fund in New Zealand.

ā€œThere are approximately 4,000 people with multiple sclerosis in New Zealand,ā€ saidĀ MSNZ spokesman, Neil Woodhams, in a news release. ā€œThis announcement is a really positive step forward for them.ā€

Added Woodhams: ā€œThis time last year PHARMAC extended the access criteria for Tysabri and Gilenya, and we are seeing how that change is making a difference in peopleā€™s lives. We know from figures that PHARMAC has provided that 471 people with MS have been approved to receive Tysabri or Gilenya within the first 12 months of funding. We hope that the impact of access to Tecfidera and Aubagio will be just as positive.ā€

MSNZ says it is concerned, however, about the criteria established for treatment, a point it addressed in its submission to PHARMAC inĀ October.Ā ā€œWe are still concerned the overall entry and exit criteria are too tight,ā€ saidĀ Woodhams. ā€œThere needs to be some flexibility. New Zealand is the only country to have such stringent exit criteria under the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).ā€

Specifically, ā€œSome people diagnosed with relapsing/remitting MS unfortunately experience a high number of relapses that produce disability in the long or medium term. In some instances a person may have attacks of the spinal cord that leave them with permanent disability in their movement. As per the EDSS scale, this will put them over point that they can enter into treatment. However their poor recovery does not mean that they have a more progressive form of MS but are still considered relapsing/remitting,ā€ he said, adding,Ā ā€œ[w]e remain concerned for patients who have had their first demyelinating episode (CIS) with proven MRI activity and demonstrable symptoms of MS, and who would benefit from early treatment, still have to wait for a significant relapse.ā€

MSNZ is asking forĀ reassurance from PHARMAC that itsĀ concerns will be considered fairly. ā€œPHARMAC have advised that applications can be made if circumstances are outside the criteria; however, we would like more reassurance these will be fully considered,ā€ Woodhams concluded.