New treatment for Parkinson’s approved by NICE (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence)

NICE assesses whether treatments and technologies are both clinically and cost effective for use in the NHS. 

They have recently approved foslevodopa-foscarbidopa (also called Produodopa) to treat people with Parkinson’s who experience movement related symptoms. Read more about this on the NICE website.
 

Produodopa is delivered 24 hours a day by a small pump that delivers a continuous dose of the medication from a syringe. 

The syringe has a fine needle that is inserted under your skin, much like apomorphine, which is an existing treatment some people with Parkinson’s use.

This is the first new treatment for Parkinson’s that’s been approved by NICE in years and can be life-changing for people with severe movement related symptoms that are not managed by other Parkinson's medications.

Trial shows benefits of using the treatment

Phil Hockey who’s lived with Parkinson’s for 6 years said: 

"I’m delighted that NICE has approved foslevodopa-foscarbidopa (Produodopa) as I’ve seen the benefit of the therapy. 

"When my oral medication stopped being as effective and my ‘off’ periods were a significant part of my day, I signed up for a clinical trial of the drug.

"I was surprised at how effective it was at controlling my symptoms. Having the pump working 24 hours a day is a key benefit and it gave me back a degree of control in the management of my symptoms. It even meant a return to my favourite sport, cycling!

"I’m happy that people with Parkinson’s may also be able to receive the benefits from this new therapy and, I’m hoping this is the start of future developments that will help as many people with the condition as possible."

Positive news, but it must be available in Scotland

Although Produodopa won’t be suitable for everyone, it is really positive to have another effective treatment for people whose complex movement symptoms are making life difficult.

If you think this treatment might be suitable for you, speak to your Parkinson’s specialist.

Now that NICE has approved this life-changing treatment we want to see as many people with Parkinson’s benefit from it. We’ll be encouraging the NHS across England, Northern Ireland and Wales to make sure it's commissioned. 

It can take up to 3 months after NICE approves a treatment for it to be commissioned, so we'll be monitoring this closely.

We also want the treatment to be available in Scotland, so we'll be working with AbbVie and the Scottish Medicines Consortium to make sure that everyone with Parkinson's can benefit from it.