Meeting of the Parliament 20 June 2018
As the MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, I have met constituents for whom access to potentially life-altering medicines for themselves or their children is an incredibly pressing concern. The Scottish Government has acted to significantly improve access to medicines in recent years, but I know, from meetings with constituents and the correspondence that I have received from constituents, that accessing certain medicines and treatments has sometimes proved frustrating.
In Scotland, new drugs are appraised in a clear way. The process is independent of ministers and Parliament, and decisions are made by the Scottish Medicines Consortium. The system needs to be fair and consistent, but it also needs to be able to respond swiftly to clinical need. Pharmaceutical companies must play their part in that process by submitting a fair price—ideally, the first time.
The Scottish Government has listened to feedback from patients and has responded to the Montgomery report’s recommendations by implementing a series of reforms to the system and new measures that will make it easier for patients with rare conditions to access new medicines and treatments. It has announced just this week that it has widened the definition of ultra-orphan medicines to include medicines for rare orphan diseases so that patients with rare diseases can get faster access to new medicines and treatments. That means that, if a medicine meets the definition and the SMC considers it to be clinically effective, patients will be able to access the new medicine on the NHS for at least three years while information on its wider effectiveness is gathered.
That follows changes that were made this month that give doctors the right to access licensed treatments that are not generally available on the NHS on a case-by-case basis, making it easier for patients to get access to the specialist medicines that they need. The peer-approved clinical system tier 2 will act as a sort of safety valve in the system for clinicians, and cost effectiveness must not be part of the consideration for non-routine access. That approach is supplemented by the new national appeal panel, and it provides a more flexible pathway for clinicians and their patients.
Those changes reflect the Government’s understanding that more can and should be done in exceptional cases, and they amount to major improvements in the access to new drugs that have the potential to improve the quality of patients’ lives.
The Government’s changes are significant, but it is also vital that pharmaceutical companies play their part by bringing a fair price to the process. As we know, ultra-orphan medicines are expensive, and the SMC’s role is to ensure that the best-value medicines are available to the NHS in Scotland. I understand that, following encouragement from the Scottish Government, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Roche have submitted new applications to NHS National Services Scotland. I hope that that results in agreement being reached on fair prices to enable patients in Scotland to access the medicines.
I hope that those recent announcements go some way towards reassuring my constituents and patients across Scotland that the system is being reformed and taken seriously and that access to the latest medicines for those who need them is being significantly improved.
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