Cannabis-based medicine among batch of new drugs approved for use in Scotland

A cannabis-based medicine can now be prescribed to sufferers of a rare genetic condition which causes seizures as part of a raft of drugs approved for use on the Scottish health service.

Epidyolex, or cannabidiol, was approved by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) on Monday for use on patients as young as two years old with seizures associated with tuberous sclerosis complex, a rare genetic condition which requires round the clock care and impacts on all aspects of life.

Consortium chairman, Mark MacGregor, said: “For people living with tuberous sclerosis complex, cannabidiol may reduce the number of seizures experienced each day, leading to marked improvements in quality of life for both patients and their carers.”

The consortium has also approved five other drugs for use on the Scottish NHS, including Ontozry, or cenobamate, as a treatment of epileptic seizures.

And Enzalutamide, or Xtandi, can now be prescribed to men with prostate cancer which has spread to other parts of the body.

Amy Rylance, head of improving care at Prostate Cancer UK, described it as “fantastic news for hundreds of men in Scotland with advanced prostate cancer, particularly those who may not be able to have chemotherapy”.

“New hormonal treatments like enzalutamide are just as effective as chemotherapy but cause far fewer side-effects, which is why we’ve been working hard to make them permanently available to men,” she said.

“We’re delighted that men in Scotland will now be able to choose the treatment that is right for them and gain precious additional time with their loved ones.”

Other drugs which have been given the go-ahead to be prescribed to patients in Scotland include one for use in people with a rare lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

Nivolumab, or Opdivo, was accepted for the treatment of advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer that affects the thin membrane that lines the lungs.

The drug gives disease sufferers four months longer, on average, than conventional chemotherapy, and patients with the cancer told the SMC of the importance of the extra time with theie loved ones.

Other medicines approved by the consortium include Risdiplam, or Evrysdi, for the treatment of rare muscle wasting disease spinal muscular atrophy, and Pemigatinib, or Pemazyre, for the treatment of advanced cholangiocarcinoma, a cancer of the bile ducts in patients with a specific gene mutation.

Mr MacGregor said: “Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare form of bile duct cancer with very few effective treatment options. Pemigatinib offers a more personalised treatment and can be taken at home giving patients more quality time to spend with family.”