Health Minister Annette King has reassured Multiple Sclerosis sufferers that treatment for the delibitating disease is a priority for her.
The Multiple Sclerosis Scoiety has accused Pharmac of "stonewalling" over putting more money into the treatment of the disease with beta-interferon.
Since 1999, and at the direction of Annette King, the government has been paying around $3 million each year to provide beta-interferon treatment for 180 MS sufferers - that's around $18,000 per patient.
MS Society president David Glenn is dismayed that Pharmac's pharmacology and therapeutics advisory committee (PTAC) has asked for more information aafter a panel of Pharmac-appointed neurologists recommended a slight loosening of the strict criteria for treatment.
