WITHIN two months, a new medicine will be available for Multiple Sclerosis patients for free, Health Minister Costas Kadis has announced, saying Cyprus would be one of the few countries in the EU to provide it on the state health budget.
The cost of each injection, which needs to be given monthly, is £1,000, but now patients who meet certain medical requirements will be getting it for free.
The drug is called Tysabri, and is a monoclonal antibody that affects the actions of the body’s immune system. It is used in treating relapsing forms of Multiple Sclerosis, but also has certain side effects, increasing the risk of serious viral infection of the brain, which might lead to disability or death, so it is not appropriate for all patients.
“There are two groups of patients who will be entitled to take this drug for free,” says Dr Marios Pantzarides from the Institute of Neurology and Genetics. “The first group includes the patients who have regular, frequent attacks and already take an interferon injection and do not respond to it. They need to prove that the medicines they are taking do not help them, and meet the necessary medical criteria,” he said.
“In the second group, we included all the new patients, who have had more than two, rather aggressive attacks within the previous months, and who don’t take any injections yet.”
Only those doctors who have completed a special Tysabri training will be deciding if the patient’s condition is appropriate to be included in the programme. “We already have 25 patients on the waiting list, but certainly there will be more patients accepted to the programme,” said Pantzarides.
Anthos Shekeris, 36, was diagnosed in 1999. “I have heard about this medicine,” he said, “and soon I am going to see my doctor and check if I meet the criteria.
“These medicines are very expensive, the cost of the drugs I am taking every month is £800, and without the government’s support, it would be really hard to cope,” he added.
Shekeris said MS patients in Cyprus also needed better support: “I believe there is not enough psychological support, especially for patients living in the villages. There are associations for MS patients only in Nicosia and Larnaca.
“I was really lucky being at Intercollege at the time I got sick, so I got the support I needed,” said Shekeris.
“There are 450 members in our association,” said Lenia Takoushi Christoforou, the head of the Multiple Sclerosis Association. “We are supporting them with physiotherapy, giving psychological help, and advising on legal procedures, like filling the forms when they apply for government support.”
But the number of members of association is only a fraction of the actual MS victims in Cyprus. Dr Pantzarides estimates there are 850 to 900 people affected by the condition in Cyprus.
