Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government why Fampridine is being banned for new patients but is permitted to continue being prescribed for existing patients.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service in England on best practice. NICE evaluated the clinical and cost effectiveness of fampridine for use in the management of multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2014 but was unable to recommend it for routine use. NICE is currently updating its clinical guideline on MS and recently consulted on draft guidance. However, it was unable to recommend fampridine to treat mobility problems in people with MS. The independent guideline committee acknowledged that while it is a clinically effective treatment for some patients, at its current price it is not cost effective for the NHS.

NICE will carefully consider comments from stakeholders in finalising its recommendations. It is for local NHS commissioners to make funding decisions on the use of fampridine taking account of NICE’s guidance. The availability of treatments in Scotland and Wales is a matter for the devolved administrations.