Skin Diseases: Drugs

(asked on 18th March 2024) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of drugs available within the NHS to treat (a) epidermolysis bullosa and (b) other inflammatory skin conditions.


Answered by
Andrew Stephenson Portrait
Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 21st March 2024

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes independent, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits.

Currently, there is one product licensed specifically for epidermolysis bullosa, Filsuvez gel, which contains birch bark extract. The NICE recommends birch bark extract as a clinically and cost effective use of NHS resources, and the NHS is legally required to fund it in line with the NICE’s recommendations. Other healthcare products are also used in the care of epidermolysis bullosa patients. There are a number of licensed and NICE recommended treatments for other inflammatory skin conditions that are now routinely available for NHS patients.

Reticulating Splines