Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 July 2004
89 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on providing the most effective possible treatments to combat multiple sclerosis, specifically on the effectiveness of a drug (details supplied) and the likelihood of this treatment being made widely available for sufferers of auto-immune disease here. [19877/04]
View answerThe Irish Medicines Board is the statutory body responsible for the regulation of medicinal products in Ireland. I understand from the board that the product referred to by the Deputy is licensed for use in this country in treatment programmes for substance abuse. It is not licensed for the treatment of multiple sclerosis or any of the auto-immune diseases, nor are any clinical trials taking place in Ireland at the moment for any of these indications.
To the board's knowledge this product is not licensed for use for the treatment of multiple sclerosis or auto-immune diseases anywhere worldwide. There have been anecdotal reports of improvements in patients with multiple sclerosis who have been administered this drug and similar improvements in patients with auto-immune diseases.
In the absence of satisfactory evidence of efficacy for use in these conditions and, consequently, the absence of the appropriate license to place the medicinal product concerned on the market for the treatment of these conditions, it is unlikely that this treatment would be widely used or available to persons with multiple sclerosis or auto-immune diseases in this country.
