New Zealand to offer wider access to MS treatments; new drugs in Bayer agreement

New Zealand government drug funder PHARMAC will provide wider access to treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), and fund new blood-thinning and antibiotic treatments following an agreement with the local subsidiary of German drug major Bayer (BAY: DE).

People with MS have access to funded treatments through defined starting and stopping criteria, which use a measure of disability called EDSS. The scores establish whether patients require treatment and whether the therapy is being successful in slowing or halting progression of the disease.

Under the changes, the stopping criteria will be changed so that options will be available for some people to stay on treatment for longer, and to switch to a second class of treatment if there is an increase in their relapse rate.