Posted by Michael Wonder on 12 Feb 2018
SMC - February 2018 decisions
12 February 2018 - Medicines for bladder cancer, skin cancer and multiple sclerosis among five new treatments accepted for use in NHSScotland.
The SMC, which reviews newly licensed medicines, has today published advice accepting five new medicines for routine use by NHS Scotland.
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was accepted for the treatment of advanced bladder cancer following consideration through SMC’s Patient and Clinician Engagement (PACE) process for medicines used to treat very rare and end of life conditions. Participants at the PACE meeting spoke of the poor prognosis for patients with the condition and how current treatment options often have serious side effects. Pembrolizumab is better tolerated and may improve both survival and quality of life.
Cladribine (Mavenclad) was accepted for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in patients whose condition is highly active. In MS, inflammation damages the protective sheath around the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord which leads to disability and neurological impairment. Cladribine has the potential to reduce the rate of MS relapse.
