What do the latest SMC recommendations reveal about market access in Scotland?
Five new drugs have been recommended by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) for use in the NHS in Scotland.
Four of them were approved under the patient and clinician engagement (PACE) arrangements designed to allow extra flexibility for end-of-life or very rare conditions.
The SMC accepted nusinersen (Spinraza) for the treatment of infantile onset 5q spinal muscular atrophy (type 1 SMA), a rare genetic condition.
The treatment was not accepted for use in type 2 or 3 SMA because the evidence presented suggested it was less cost-effective in these situations.
Avelumab (Bavencio) was accepted for the treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC).
Selexipag (Uptravi) was accepted for treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, regorafenib (Stivarga) for advanced liver cancer, and also brodalumab (Kyntheum) for the treatment of severe plaque psoriasis.
Further information
SMC: Medicines advice