The National Commission for the Incorporation of New Technologies in Health (Conitec) issued a favorable opinion on the incorporation of Zolgensma into the Unified Health System (SUS). The information was confirmed today (3) by the Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, via social networks. 
According to the minister, Conitec’s recommendation is that the medicine be used to treat children up to 6 months old diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) type I and who are out of evasive ventilation for more than 16 hours a day.
“With this, the Unified Health System in Brazil will offer the most advanced technologies for the treatment of AME. This is because Zolgensma joins Nusinersena and Risdiplam, treatments already incorporated into the health system”, detailed Queiroga.
The disease
AME is a rare, degenerative disease, passed from parents to children and that interferes with the body’s ability to produce an essential protein for the survival of motor neurons, responsible for simple vital voluntary gestures of the body, such as breathing, swallowing and moving.
It varies from type 0 (before birth) to type 4 (second or third decade of life), depending on the degree of muscle involvement and the age at which the first symptoms appear.
The main signs include loss of muscle control and strength; incapacity/difficulty in movements and locomotion; inability/difficulty swallowing; inability/difficulty holding the head; and inability/difficulty breathing.
