Get the biggest stories sent straight to your inbox Sign up for regular updates and breaking news from WalesOnline Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Wales has become the first country in the UK to approve a cannabis-based drug for sufferers of multiple sclerosis.

Health Minister Mark Drakeford has approved the cannabis-based oral spray Sativex to treat Welsh patients experiencing symptoms of muscle spasms and stiffness.

Consultants in rehabilitation medicine have hailed the recommendation as a “significant milestone for the treatment of spasticity”.

Despite the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) rejecting it for use in their draft clinical guideline for MS – which means Sativex could be blocked from use in England – the All Wales Medical Strategy Group’s (AWMSG) insisted the treatment should be made available.

The AWMSG recommendation and Ministerial approval overrules NICE, meaning Wales will be the only place in the UK where people will be able to access the treatment.

About 100,000 people in the UK suffer from MS, which is normally diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 40.

Professor Drakeford said: “Following the appraisal of Sativex by the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group, I am pleased to announce we will be making the medicine available on the Welsh NHS to those who need it.

“I hope this decision will help ease the suffering of some of those who have to live with the reality of MS everyday.”

Sally Hughes, Programme Director for Policy at the MS Society, said: “Wales, as the first UK nation to approve this MS treatment, is leading the way.

“Muscle spasms and stiffness in MS can be painful and distressing and so the availability of a treatment that can potentially alleviate these symptoms is good news.

“We particularly welcome this decision considering the draft NICE clinical guideline, published in April, rejected this treatment for use on the NHS in Wales and England based on a flawed assessment of the drug’s cost effectiveness.

“For some time we’ve been aware of people in Wales paying privately for this licensed treatment – this decision should make life a lot easier for them.”

Sativex was first launched in the UK in 2010, but patients have only been able to access the treatment on an ad-hoc basis since.

Until now, authorities had issued no clear guidance on the use of the drug.

Dr Sajida Javaid, a consultant in rehabilitation medicine at Neath Port Talbot Hospital, said: “It is encouraging to see that patients in Wales will now have improved access to a treatment that has been proven to provide significant relief from the spasms and cramps associated with spasticity.”

Multiple sclerosis affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of symptoms including problems with muscle movement, balance and vision.

Amy Bowen, Director of Service Development at the MS Trust, says the AWMSG is the first assessment body in the UK to have looked at all of the evidence and conclude that Sativex is an effective treatment and also cost effective for prescription on the NHS.

She added: “We are extremely pleased that people with MS in Wales will finally have better access to Sativex. “As a charity we have campaigned over a long period for Sativex to be widely available because of the significant impact that MS spasticity can have on daily activities.

“We just hope that this recommendation will now lead to Sativex being more easily accessible in the rest of the UK.”

A clinical trial investigating the effects of Sativex in over 500 people showed that 48% of participants had 20% or more improvement in their spasticity.

Amongst those who responded, about three quarters had an improvement of greater than 30% in their spasticity score within four weeks when compared with those taking a placebo.

The All Wales Medicines Strategy Group was established in 2002, as a statutory advisory public body to provide advice on medicines management and prescribing to the Welsh Government’s Minister for Health and Social Services in an effective, efficient and transparent manner.