MULTIPLE sclerosis patients in Scotland will be able to self-administer a drug at home for the first time which can reduce inflammation and slow nerve damage.
Ofatumumab - also known by the brand name Kesimpta - has been approved for use on the NHS by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC).
It is the first monoclonal antibody drug which patients will be able to take at home, meaning they can avoid lengthy hospital trips for intravenous infusions.
It is already approved for MS patients in England.
The medication, which targets damaging B cells, is administered once every four weeks using an injector pen and will be available to patients with active relapsing MS.
B cells are a normal part of healthy immune systems responsible for killing pathogens such as bacteria and viruses.
READ MORE: Statistics experts detail the latest Covid figures for UK
However, in MS patients the immune system malfunctions, causing the B cells to attack the fatty myelin coating which protects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in increasing disability over time.
Ofatumumab works by destroying B cells and was shown in clinical trials to more than half the number of harmful relapses experienced by MS patients and slowed disability progression by 34 per cent compared to existing treatments.
An MS relapse is when existing symptoms suddenly worsen or new ones appear.
More than 15,000 people are living with the condition in Scotland, one of the highest rates in the world.
Carla Callaghan, from Hamilton in Lanarkshire, is a communications professional who was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS in 2013.
READ MORE: MS breakthrough by Edinburgh University scientists
She has been on three different treatments over the past seven years and said it was crucial that patients had options.
She said: “These treatments work differently for everyone and no one person with MS is the same, so it is absolutely crucial that there are a range of treatments that can be used.
“Without this range of treatments, the MS I have would definitely have progressed. My career is really important to me and without these treatments I wouldn't be able to do the job I love."
Morna Simpkins, director for MS Society Scotland, said the treatment would be more convenient for many patients.
She said: “Self injecting ofatumumab could be particularly helpful for people who can't take time out of work to attend appointments or live far away from their nearest hospital."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here