Special Authority approved by the Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Assessment Committee (MSTAC). Applications will be considered by MSTAC at its regular meetings and approved subject to eligibility according to the Entry and Stopping criteria (below).
Application details may be obtained from PHARMAC’s website www.pharmac.govt.nz or contact:
The Coordinator
Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Assessment Committee
PHARMAC
PO Box 10 254
Wellington
Phone: 04 460 4990
Fax: 04 916 7571
Email: mstaccoordinator@pharmac.govt.nz
Completed application forms must be sent to the coordinator for MSTAC and will be considered by MSTAC at the next practicable opportunity. Notification of MSTAC’s decision will be sent to the patient, the applying clinician and the patient’s GP (if specified).
Any of the following:
Switching between natalizumab, fingolimod, dimethyl fumarate and teriflunomide is permitted provided the EDSS stopping criteria are not met.
Switching to interferon or glatiramer acetate from one of the first-line treatments is only permitted provided the EDSS stopping criteria are not met and both fingolimod and natalizumab are either not tolerated or treatment with both agents would be clinically inappropriate.
Continued relapses on treatment would be expected to lead to a switch of treatment provided the stopping criteria are not met.
If are lapse has resulted in an increased EDSS score that potentially may lead to discontinuation of treatment according to stopping criteria, a period of 6 months is allowed from the start of the relapse for recovery to occur.
Treatment with glatiramer acetate is permitted only if treatment with the four first-line treatments are not tolerated or treatment with either would be clinically inappropriate. Glatiramer acetate will not be funded as second line treatment if EDSS progression has occurred on treatment with a first-line treatment.
Patients who have an increasing relapse rate over 12 months of treatment(compared with the relapse rate on starting treatment) and who do not meet the EDSS Stopping Criteria at annual review may switch from either of the beta-interferon’s [interferonbeta-1-beta or interferonbeta-1-alpha] to glatiramer acetate or vice versa.
Patients may switch from either of the beta-interferon’s [interferonbeta-1-beta or interferonbeta-1-alpha] to glatiramer acetate or vice versa for increased relapses only once, after which they will be required to stop funded treatment if they meet any of the Stopping Criteria at annual review(including the criterion relating to increasing relapse rate over 12 months of treatment).
If a relapse has resulted in an increased EDSS score that potentially may lead to discontinuation of treatment according to stopping criteria, a period of 6 months is allowed from the start of the relapse for recovery to occur. In this setting anti-JCV antibody positive status maybe accepted as a clinically inappropriate reason for treatment with natalizumab.
Stem cell therapy is any treatment that uses or targets stem cells