NICE rejects Sativex in draft guidance on cannabis-based medicinal products
Draft guidance published today (August 8) does not recommend Sativex as a treatment for MS spasticity because it is not a cost effective treatment.
In November 2018, the legal status of cannabis was amended to allow specialist clinicians to legally prescribe cannabis-derived medicinal products to patients with an exceptional clinical need.
To support this change, NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has reviewed evidence for the benefits and costs of cannabis-based medicinal products and drawn up guidance for health professionals and the public.
The draft guideline acknowledges that, for people with MS, Sativex can be an effective treatment for MS spasticity which has not responded to other therapies. However, Sativex is not recommended because, at its current list price, it is not considered to be cost-effective. The calculations used to reach this decision indicated that Sativex would be cost effective if the list price was reduced from £375 to £188 per pack.
The draft NICE guideline also does not recommend the use of cannabis-based medicinal products for people with chronic pain, including people with MS experiencing nerve pain.
The MS Trust is hugely disappointed that, once again, Sativex has been turned down because it is too expensive for the NHS.
- Paru Naik, Health Professional Programme Director, MS Trust
The MS Trust is reviewing the draft guideline from NICE and we will respond to the consultation process.
We encourage people to add their own comments on this draft guideline; you can do so via the NICE website by 5pm on 5 September 2019. The final guideline is expected to be published in November 2019.


My search for MS support while studying for a PhD
4 Mar 2021 - 00:00
Laura is studying a PhD in Cancer Genomics and was diagnosed with MS in September 2020 following multiple hospital admissions. Here, Laura talks about how this affected her mental health and what more could be done to support other students going through the same thing.


MS, my mental health and a university degree
4 Mar 2021 - 00:00
Scarlet talks about how she learnt to manage her MS and mental health alongside the stresses of completing a university degree.


Receiving an MS diagnosis during my gender transition
22 Feb 2021 - 00:00
Chris shares his experience of being diagnosed with MS at the same time as starting hormone treatment and a surgical gender transition.

Sign up to our emails
Get the latest news and research sent straight to your inbox. Find out first about the latest developments in MS treatments, plus updates on the work of the MS Trust.