Face Of Hope

Baby Arthur’s revolutionary £1.8m NHS treatment could save hundreds of kids’ lives. Genetic Disease Fight. £1.8m-per-dose drug gives hope of life for five-month-old Arthur

- Martin Bagot

Baby Arthur Morgan has had a £1.8million drug on the NHS to give him a chance of life.

Arthur, five months, has received gene therapy Zolgensma for a spinal disorder that had reduced his life expectancy to just two years.

It offers hope to others with type 1 spinal muscular atrophy.

Dad Reece, 31, said: “This gives Arthur the best possible chance.”

LITTLE Arthur Morgan’s family were given the devastating news that their baby son had type 1 spinal muscular atrophy at the beginning of last month.

They were told Arthur, who had been born six weeks prematurely in December, would experience progressive muscle weakness, loss of movement, difficulty breathing, and have a life expectancy of just two years.

Their biggest hope for Arthur lay in Zolgensma after studies had found that a single treatment helped babies with type 1 SMA to sit, crawl and walk, and also prevented them from having to be put on a ventilator

With a list price of £1.79million per dose, it was thought to be the world’s most expensive drug, but it could save Arthur’s life. So when the doctors revealed he could have it on the

NHS, his family were overwhelmed with relief.