Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she expects Litfulo to be made available to NHS patients in (a) Shropshire, (b) Telford and (c) Wrekin.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations on whether all new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits.

On 27 March 2024, NICE published final technology appraisal guidance recommending ritlecitinib (Litfulo) for treating severe alopecia areata in people 12 years old and over. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE within three months of the publication of its final guidance.