Spinal Muscular Atrophy Treatment 'Evrysdi'... Clears First Hurdle for Reimbursement

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The oral treatment for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), 'Evrysdi' (Roche), has passed the first hurdle for insurance coverage.

On the 1st, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service held the 6th Drug Benefit Evaluation Committee meeting and announced that Evrysdi for SMA treatment is deemed appropriate for insurance coverage.

Evrysdi received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in November 2020 and was newly applied for insurance coverage in July 2021.

Evrysdi is an oral treatment different from existing SMA treatments that are administered directly into the spinal canal. Patients who have suffered from SMA for a long time have demanded insurance coverage for oral treatments due to difficulties with direct spinal canal administration.

Going forward, after price negotiations with the National Health Insurance Service and decisions and announcements by the Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee, the final insurance coverage decision will be made.