Xolair given SMC approval
08 October 2007

People living with severe asthma in Scotland been given real hope of a life free from debilitating breathlessness after the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) approved the drug Omalizumab (Xolair) for use.

Xolair is given as an ‘add-on therapy’ in a fortnightly injection for people with asthma that is severe, persistent and allergic. People with this type of asthma may find it so debilitating that they are unable to work or carry out simple tasks such as gardening or housework.

Xolair had twice been rejected by the SMC on the grounds of cost.

Shona Haslam, National Director at Asthma UK Scotland, said:

‘The approval of Xolair is not only a victory for Asthma UK Scotland but a victory for people with severe allergic asthma across Scotland. We are delighted this third review of Xolair has been successful and will ensure that these people have access to this life-changing drug on the NHS and we are continuing to campaign hard for its roll out to the rest of the UK.

'There are nearly 390,000 people in Scotland currently living with asthma, many of them able to control their condition using existing asthma drugs and have a symptom free lifestyle. However, some people with severe allergic asthma experience numerous emergency hospital admissions throughout the year and existing drugs simply do not help to control their asthma effectively.

'Xolair will radically help these people and will, literally, change their lives. It will give them the opportunity to work, go on holiday, have a night out or even just walk to the shops, without the constant fear that their next asthma attack could be fatal. This is truly a ground-breaking result for people with asthma.’