Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on reducing the cost of the drug Sativex in order to allow that drug to be prescribed to people suffering from MS.

Sativex is licensed for the treatment of moderate to severe spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS). It is normally prescribed on the National Health Service by a specialist doctor with experience of treating MS spasticity – consultant neurologists, consultant rehabilitation specialists and consultant pain specialists.

When the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its guideline on the treatment of adults with MS in 2014, it recommended that Sativex should not be offered as an option to treat spasticity in people with MS because it is not a cost effective treatment. NICE is responsible for determining whether its guidance should be updated following the publication of any significant new evidence.