NICE is the organisation that decides whether treatments should be available on the NHS in England. Wales and Northern Ireland usually follow NICE decisions too. The SMC is the organisation that decides for Scotland.

What is ozanimod?

Ozanimod is a type of medicine called a sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator. Ozanimod attaches to certain white blood cells (lymphocytes) and stops them travelling around your body. This helps stop the lymphocytes causing inflammation in your gut.

What have NICE and the SMC decided?

NICE and the SMC have decided that ozanimod should be available on the NHS to treat some adults with Ulcerative Colitis.

Who can have ozanimod?

NICE recommends ozanimod as a treatment option for adults with moderately or severely active Ulcerative Colitis who:

• Cannot have or are not responding well enough to standard treatments, and are not able to have infliximab or
• Cannot have or are not responding well enough to biologic medicines

The SMC recommends ozanimod for adults with moderately or severely active Ulcerative Colitis who:

• Did not respond well enough to standard treatments or biologic medicines
• Have stopped responding to standard treatments or biologic medicines
• Cannot have standard treatments or biologic medicines because of bad side effects

Standard treatments include oral steroids or immunomodulators (for example azathioprine, mercaptopurine or methotrexate).

How do you have it?

You have it as tablets that you take once a day. You can take it with or without food.

How effective is it?

A large clinical trial looked at how well ozanimod works in adults with moderately or severely active Ulcerative Colitis. The trial compared ozanimod to dummy treatment (placebo). The trial found:

• After 10 weeks of treatment, 18 in every 100 people who had ozanimod were in remission. Only 6 in every 100 people who had placebo were in remission.
• After 52 weeks of treatment, 37 in every 100 people who had ozanimod were in remission. Only 19 in every 100 people who had placebo were in remission.

When will it be available?

When NICE recommends a treatment option, it should be available on the NHS within 3 months. When the SMC recommends a treatment option, they expect NHS boards in Scotland to make it available. But they do not state a time limit.

How do I get it?

Ozanimod is not suitable for everyone with Ulcerative Colitis. If you think ozanimod might be suitable for you, talk to your IBD team. Together, you can talk about your treatment options and decide what treatment is right for you.