The Scottish Medicines Consortium published advice on seven medicines on 8 June 2026:
- Semaglutide (Wegovy®) — Accepted, when used with diet and exercise, to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke or heart attack in adults who are overweight and have cardiovascular disease. This is not a high cost drug in the traditional sense but has the potential to bring significant cost pressure due to volume.1
- Odevixibat (Bylvay®) — Accepted for treating progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC, which causes severe itchiness and liver damage) in patients six months and older. Reassessed following a period of use under the ultra-orphan pathway and now accepted for routine use.1
- Capsaicin (Qutenza®) — Accepted for peripheral neuropathic pain in adults with diabetes.1
- Dupilumab (Dupixent®) — Accepted, used together with intranasal corticosteroids, for adults with severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) for whom therapy with systemic corticosteroids and/or surgery has not provided adequate disease control. Subject to an approved NHS Scotland Patient Access Scheme (SMC2851).1
- Talquetamab (Talvey®) — Accepted for adults with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior therapies including an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor and an anti-CD38 antibody, and whose disease has progressed on their last therapy. Myeloma UK estimates approximately 50 patients per year in Scotland will benefit. Subject to an approved NHS Scotland Patient Access Scheme.2
- Sparsentan (Filspari®) — Accepted for adults with primary IgA nephropathy losing at least 1.0 g/day protein in their urine, or with a urine protein-to-creatinine ratio of at least 0.75 g/g, whose condition has not responded adequately to standard care.3
Blueteq comment: June SMC announcements make a substantial addition to NHS Scotland’s managed medicines portfolio.
References
1. Media release: SMC decisions June 2026. Healthcare Improvement Scotland. 8 June 2026. https://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.scot/publications/media-release-smc-decisions-june-2026/
2. Scotland Backs Bispecific Antibody for Refractory Myeloma. Medscape. 10 June 2026. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/scotland-backs-bispecific-antibody-refractory-myeloma-2026a1000je3
3. SMC accepts sparsentan for adults living with IgA nephropathy in Scotland. Kidney Research UK. 8 June 2026. https://www.kidneyresearchuk.org/2026/06/08/smc-accepts-sparsentan-for-adults-living-with-iga-nephropathy-in-scotland/
