Finally funded: MS drugs within reach

For 17-year-old Briony Mathieson having MS has become a little less scary with the news that two new treatments will be publicly funded.

The country's drug-buying agency, Pharmac, is from today funding Biogen Idec's Natalizumab (trading as Tysabri) and Novartis' Fingolimod (Gilenya) to treat the symptoms of the disorder.

The decision would bring relief to hundreds of MS sufferers around the country with an annual cost in the "tens of millions of dollars per year", a Pharmac spokesman said.

About 20 MS patients had been forking out the estimated $3000 to $5000 a month for the drugs, MSNZ vice president Neil Woodhams said.

Mathieson's neurologist Dr Debbie Mason made a special funding request for Natalizumab on the teenager's behalf after two existing medications failed to address her symptoms.

She was knocked back and Mathieson has been left floundering without treatment since April.

A fall at the age of 14 left her with numb legs and a cold sensation in her feet, which continued over a weekend.

She stayed in hospital while numerous tests were done and steroids administered. Three days later, she was told she had MS.

"I'd seen it on [TV show] Shortland Street so that's where I'd heard about it but I was quite shocked and I didn't really know what to do."

Episodes of numbness, tingling sensations, vision impairment and fatigue continued while Mathieson began a treatment programme.

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Finally funded: MS drugs within reach