I HAVE a member of my family who has multiple sclerosis and was disturbed to find out that the first line therapy she requires and which consultants prefer to treat this debilitating disease is to be available in Scotland but not in England on the NHS and certainly not in Tavistock.  Discrimination of this nature is nothing new and was inherited by the present Government, but the drugs regulatory system in Britain clearly remains unfit for purpose, open to abuse, and in need of sorting out from top to bottom.   It took almost 12 months for the MS drug in question, Tecfidera, to gain Euro-pean Medicines' Agency approval. It has now been available overseas for 15 months, but if it were not for the intervention of Prime Minister David Cameron we would possibly still be waiting for the next step — consideration by our own regulators for its use by the National Health Service here in England.  Even though it appears everyone else has the drug, subject to the constraints that might apply in their own jurisdictions, our own negotiators have now decided they are unable at present to provide it through the NHS in England. The regulators north of the border in Scotland have no such qualms and consultants there will be able to prescribe Tecfidera to their patients from mid-July.  Thankfully we do have two knights in shining armour, as our local MP Geoffrey Cox and Abbey Surgery GP Mike Maguire are supporting an application for individual funding locally through the Plymouth Hospitals Healthcare Trust. We'd like to thank them for their efforts from the bottom of our hearts.  It is unethical for unsuccessful negotiators to use seriously sick people as pawns in a charade that cannot possibly benefit anyone. A stalemate is not in the interests of patients or those who have invested in the drug companies.  A sensible formula has to be found going forward as the whole thing is grossly offensive to any reasonable person and amounts to a shameful two-fingered salute to the Hippocratic Oath.  Vic Gardner Bere Alston