Fampridine, which is the first MS medicine designed to improve walking in adults, will help thousands live more independently.

Professor Frankie Swords, NHS national medical director, said: ‘Walking difficulties can have a huge impact on the freedom and independence of people with MS, so this signal-boosting pill could be life-changing for thousands of patients.

‘Fampridine helps electrical messages travel along nerves damaged by MS, giving people the chance to walk more easily and helping them be more mobile to do more of the everyday things that matter to them.

‘For some, even a modest improvement could mean getting around the house more easily, going out with greater confidence and living more independently.'

The drug will be available for adults with any type of MS whose walking difficulties are assessed as having an Expanded Disability Status Scale score of between 4 (able to walk without aid or rest for around 500 metres) and 7 (unable to walk further than 5 metres and largely restricted to a wheelchair).

The roll out follows assessment by NHS England's Clinical Priorities Advisory Group – which reviews specialist medicines, devices and treatments according to their benefit for patients and value for money – and brings access in England in line with other UK nations.