New oral drug now available on PBS

The new oral treatment for relapsing remitting MS, Gilenya®, is now available on the PBS.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommended the drug for PBS listing earlier this year and on 21 June 2011, the Government announced that it had passed final approval for the drug.

In her announcement of newly subsidised medicines, Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon said 'In particular, I am pleased to announce the listing of the treatment fingolimod (Gilenya®) which will assist patients who are suffering with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. It is the first oral treatment for MS and will reduce clinical relapses and slow progression of the disease.'

She went on to say that the listing 'reaffirms the Government’s commitment to list drugs on the PBS that treat serious conditions where alternative treatments are not already available.'

Gilenya® is a tablet taken daily and acts as an immunosuppressant; the drug prevents lymphocytes from migrating into the brain and spinal cord by locking them in lymph nodes outside the brain and spinal cord. Other currently available immune-modifying MS treatments must be delivered by injection.

'This is an excellent outcome for people with MS around Australia as it provides another affordable and non-invasive treatment option,' commented Jeremy Wright, Executive Director of MS Research Australia.

Prof Bill Carroll, neurologist and MS Research Australia’s Scientific Chairman, in an Editorial comment in the New England Journal of Medicine said: 'In the end, individual decisions need to be made based on the risk and benefits discussed between a well informed patient and his/her clinician, supported by quality safety programs.'

Further information about Gilenya® is available click here

Please note: MS Research Australia does not recommend any specific disease-modifying treatment for people living with MS. Decisions about any treatments, taking into consideration the potential benefits and side effects, should be made in careful consultation with the person’s neurologist.