Thousands of people living with multiple sclerosis in England will now be able to access a new medicine on the NHS designed to help them walk more easily, NHS England confirmed today.
The drug, fampridine, works by boosting the electrical signals sent from damaged nerves to the muscles. It is the first medication specifically developed to improve walking ability in adults with MS, and becomes routinely available on the health service from today.
Patients take the tablet twice daily. For those who respond well, the improvement in mobility could translate into small but meaningful gains, from moving more easily around the home to going out independently and spending more time with loved ones.
MS is a lifelong condition affecting the brain and spinal cord, and its symptoms, which include fatigue, weakness, poor coordination and difficulty walking, vary widely between patients. Until now, those struggling with mobility have mainly relied on physiotherapy, walking aids, foot-support devices and medication to ease muscle stiffness.
Trial data cited by NHS England found that fampridine, sold under the brand name Fampyra, improved walking speed in 43 percent of patients and helped others sustain walking for longer periods. Around 5,000 people with MS are expected to qualify for the treatment in England during its first year.
Under the new arrangements, patients will trial the drug for two to four weeks, with clinicians assessing their walking before and after. Those who show a clear improvement will be able to continue taking it long term, subject to regular reviews.
“Life-Changing” for Patients
NHS National Medical Director Professor Frankie Swords said walking difficulties can severely limit the independence of people with MS, calling the new treatment potentially “life-changing for thousands of patients.” She added that fampridine helps signals travel along damaged nerves, giving patients “the chance to walk more easily.”
Professor James Palmer, National Medical Director for Specialised Services at NHS England, said the drug offers those who have long depended on physiotherapy or walking aids “real hope of greater independence.”
The announcement was welcomed by patients who had previously been forced to pay for the drug privately. Aysen Slack, 65, from Eastbourne, said she began buying fampridine herself several years ago after learning about it, but had to stop because the cost became unsustainable. Her MS has since progressed, and she now needs walking sticks even inside her own flat. She said the drug had been working well for her and that she would like to try it again now that it is funded by the NHS.
Who Qualifies
Eligibility will be based on a patient’s Expanded Disability Status Scale score, a measure of mobility impairment. Adults with any form of MS scoring between 4, meaning they can walk roughly 500 metres unaided, and 7, meaning they are largely confined to a wheelchair and cannot walk more than five metres, will be able to access the treatment.
The decision follows review by NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group, which evaluates specialist treatments not assessed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, often because they lack a license for the specific condition in question. The move brings England’s access to fampridine into line with the rest of the United Kingdom.
The MS Society welcomed the decision. Ceri Smith, the charity’s Head of Policy and Evidence, noted that more than 120,000 people live with MS in England and described fampridine as the only licensed treatment shown to improve walking speed and ability for some patients. She said the change could help people remain in work and live independently, and urged that MS services be given the resources needed to make the drug available nationwide, regardless of where a patient lives.
