Disease modifying therapies (DMTs) are treatments for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) that can help change the course of their MS by reducing the number of relapses and preventing the buildup of disability in the long term.
DMTs are for people whose MS is considered active. This means you’re experiencing relapses or you have new or enlarging lesions on an MRI scan.
On this page, we look at how DMTs are grouped and list those currently licensed and approved for use in the UK.
The following disease modifying therapies have been approved for use on the NHS in the UK for people with MS. The availability of each drug may vary in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Please see individual medicine pages for more information on availability.
The therapies are listed under at least two different names. The first name is the generic name. This is the name of the active ingredient in the therapy. The name in brackets is the brand name created by the pharmaceutical company that made the medicine.
The NHS has more medicines information (NHS England).
The DMTs for treating relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) on the NHS are grouped by efficacy, or how effective they are at reducing the number of relapses you may have.
The therapies are described as either moderate efficacy therapies or higher efficacy therapies. Higher efficacy therapies are those that are known to reduce relapses by at least 50%.
Higher efficacy DMTs licensed and approved for treating RRMS are:
The following moderately effective DMTs are licensed and approved for treating RRMS:
Your MS team will discuss your treatment options with you based on your circumstances. If you’re eligible for a DMT, a high efficacy therapy will usually be considered first. This is because there is evidence to suggest that high efficacy therapies are more effective at preventing relapses and long-term disability.
We have more information about starting a DMT.
Siponimod (Mayzent) is the only DMT that is available on the NHS to treat active secondary progressive MS in the UK.
Ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) is the only DMT that is licensed in the UK for treating early active primary progressive MS.
This information has been developed by the MS Trust Health Information team. Our team produces accurate evidence-based information to help you navigate your every day – working alongside health professionals.
We would like to thank Dr Wallace Brownlee, Consultant Neurologist and Clinical Lead for MS, University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, Laura Carrington, MS Clinical Nurse Specialist, Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust and Rachel Dorsey-Campbell, Consultant Pharmacist, Neurology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, for checking the clinical accuracy of this information.
