Campaign for Access to Treatments for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

On 5 April 2017, the NORTH STAR / SMA-REACH UK group of seventy clinicians, physiotherapists, clinical trial coordinators, industry and advocacy groups’ representatives, including SMA Support UK, sent an open letter, signed on behalf of the group by Professor Francesco Muntoni, setting out their position and recommendations to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), NHS England’s Care and Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs), NHS Trusts and Biogen.

TreatSMA had a meeting today with SMA Support UK and The SMA Trust due to the current meetings being held by EMA and their decision expected to be made very soon.

Biogen have provided the following update to the SMA Support UK and SMA Trust in response to their queries:

In infants with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), treatment with Spinraza (nusinersen), the first FDA-approved drug for SMA, reduces the risk of death or permanent ventilation, according to new results from the Phase 3 ENDEAR study (NCT02193074).

The evaluation of medicines in the EU can be through single national submissions (in the first instance then a mutual review lead by the country who made the first assessment) but in the case of medicines of high importance like…