A groundbreaking drug much needed by patients with highly active multiple sclerosis that was promised in the last Budget will be made available by April, a Health Ministry spokesman has confirmed.
In November, the government had announced that the Novartis-produced Gilenya (fingolimod) will be added to its formulary list.
A number of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) had recently voiced their growing frustration to Times of Malta after further developments seemed to have ground to a halt, with no calls for tenders issued yet.
Gilenya is a second-line treatment, prescribed only when MS patients are failing to respond to injected treatment (beta-interferon) or whose disease is severe and rapidly getting worse.
MS is an inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system that has no cure.
Treatment, however, plays an in important part in helping slow down its progress as once an MS attack occurs, the damage is non-reversible.
The pill-based medicine costs €1,760 for a four-week supply and the Malta Community Chest Fund is providing financial help to those who are seeking the treatment. However, it does not reimburse the full amount, meaning that most patients would still need to pay between €300 and €800.
Carmen Muscat, president of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Malta, explained that a number of patients were not taking the drug because they could not afford the monthly difference, as many were retired due to their health problems.
Two such patients had spoken to this newspaper, calling on the government to give them an indication when Gilenya would be made available.
According to the spokesman, about 10 patients are already on the drug, purchasing it with variable assistance from the MCCF.
“To ensure the safety of patients on fingolimod [Gilenya], a specific register will be kept to ensure that they are not lost to follow up, and that adequate monitoring of these patients is carried out,” the spokesman said.
“The risks of any treatment will always be carefully evaluated and discussed with the patients.”
The first dose of Gilenya is administered in hospital, where the patient’s blood pressure and heart rate is monitored every hour for six hours.
The spokesman added that as part of the ministry’s budget commitment, the government is also in the process of also procuring new medicine for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), fibromyalgia (FM), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and diabetes mellitus.