ACTEMRA

[Seagu11]

Is it true new drug for GCA available on NHS available in England not Scotland?

If not why not ? Scots Wahae!

[SnazzyD]

It is it not for first line treatment though in England, but “refractory” GCA. I’m still a bit wary of getting excited about a drug that’s not without its problems just because it’s not Pred. It is great though, that for those whose GCA is really hard to shift, there is another option to try. It is jolly expensive too.

This says it is accepted in Scotland but not instead of Pred but as well as

scottishmedicines.org.uk/me...

Again, it’s not going to be given to everybody

[PMRpro Ambassador]

It is approved in Scotland:

pmrandgca.org.uk/news

The approval came through about the same time as the London AGM in the autumn and I'm told that in some ways it is better than what was achieved in England - not sure of the details though. Possibly that it can be used for longer than a year if a physician thinks it should be.

[YuliK]

empr.com/actemra/drug/3561/

Doesn't look like its without serious side effects. Pretty expensive too 🤑

YuliK