Welsh Government has approved advice from the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) for five medicines.
- Hydrocortisone MR (Efmody®) is recommended to treat congenital adrenal hyperplasia in adolescents from 12 years of age for whom treatment with immediate‑release hydrocortisone has not worked, and in adults for whom immediate-release hydrocortisone and/or prednisolone have not worked. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is an inherited condition in which the body's adrenal glands are not making enough of the hormone cortisol. Efmody® contains hydrocortisone, which is a copy of the hormone cortisol.
- Rituximab (MabThera®) is recommended for the treatment of moderate to severe pemphigus vulgaris. Pemphigus vulgaris is an autoimmune condition that causes painful blisters on the skin and lining of the mouth, nose, throat and genitals. The recommendation also applies to biosimilars of rituximab.
- Dupilumab (Dupixent®) is recommended for restricted use with other asthma medicines for the maintenance treatment of severe asthma in children aged 6 years to 11 years whose asthma is not controlled by their current asthma medicines (such as corticosteroids). Dupilumab is restricted for use only in severe asthma with type 2 inflammation when other treatments have not worked.
- Lacosamide (Vimpat®) is recommended for use in children aged 2 years to 15 years to treat a certain type of epilepsy characterized by partial‑onset seizures with or without secondary generalisation. In this type of epilepsy, fits first affect only one side of the brain; however, these may then spread to larger areas on both sides of the brain.
- Insulin degludec (Tresiba®) is recommended to treat diabetes mellitus in adults, adolescents and children from the age of 1 year.
AWTTC’s Patient Access to Medicines Service (PAMS) supports the AWMSG to assess and monitor new medicines in Wales.