9 April 2019 - Biogen’s Spinraza (ingredient: nusinersen), a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), started to receive insurance benefits as the first treatment for 5q SMA in Korea from Monday.

Under the reimbursement plan, the patient can receive insurance benefits if they have the three criteria: diagnosis confirming survival motor neuron 1 gene deletion or mutation, developed SMA-related clinical symptoms and signs at 3 years of age or younger, and are not using a permanent ventilator (more than 16 hours per day or more than 21 days in a row).

To be eligible for the benefit of Spinraza medication, patients must submit a preliminary application to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service for approval, while going through the clinical evaluation, including developmental stage, exercise function, and respiratory function, before receiving additional doses after the initial treatment dosage (four doses)

The health authorities quickly approved Spinraza due to SMA’s seriousness and the drug’s innovative efficacy.

Read Korea Biomedical Review article