Tysabri backing by UK's NICE a milestone for Britain's underdeveloped MS market

The decision by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the body that recommends treatments to be made available on the National Health Service in England and Wales, to back the use of Tysabri (natalizumab) for a severe form of multiple sclerosis offers UK patients renewed hope of regaining control over their disease.

Estimated to be worth some $50.0 million in 2006, the UK MS market is by far the smallest of the five major European pharmaceutical markets. Access in the UK to the approved beta-interferons -Avonex (interferon beta-1a, Biogen Idec), Rebif (interferon beta-1a, Merck Serono) and Betaseron (interferon beta-1b, Bayer Schering) - and Teva's Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) is severely restricted due to the Department of Health's 2002 implemented "risk-sharing" scheme. However, if the outcome of the ongoing pharmacoeconomic review of therapies is positive, then the UK market will see major expansion, as therapies will be reimbursed under the NHS for a wider patient group, according to a new report by independent market analyst Datamonitor.

MS is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by demyelination (loss of the insulating myelin sheath) of nerve fibers, leading to nerve damage and associated symptoms of fatigue, cognitive and visual impairments. Several clinical categorizations of MS have been recognized: clinically definite MS (CDMS), relapse remitting (RRMS), secondary progressive MS (SPMS), primary progressive MS (PPMS) and progressive relapsing MS (PRMS), explains the Datamonitor report.