NICE okays Eliquis for blood clots after surgery
pharmafile | November 25, 2011 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | BMS, Eliquis, NICE, Pfizer
NICE is recommending Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Eliquis for blood clots after surgery.
Specifically, NICE has said that Eliquis (apixaban) can be used as an option for the prevention of venous thromboembolism in adults who have undergone planned total hip replacement or total knee replacement surgery.
The cost of treatment with Eliquis is estimated to be £41.16 (based on 12 days’ treatment) for knee replacement surgery and £116.62 for hip replacement surgery (based on 34 days’ treatment).
In final draft guidance NICE said that although Eliquis had only been directly compared to Sanofi’s injectable drug Lovenox (enoxaparin), the watchdog was satisfied that Eliquis is a clinically and cost-effective option for preventing blood clots, alongside other effective treatments already recommended by NICE.
These other treatments include a batch of new oral anticoagulants – Bayer’s Xarelto (rivaroxaban) and Boehringer’s Pradaxa (dabigatran) – which are both NICE-recommended for the same licence.
Pradaxa is currently under NICE review for its secondary licence for the prevention of systemic embolism and stroke in patients with an abnormal heart flutter (atrial fibrillation).
In its most recent draft guidance, NICE has recommended NHS funding of Pradaxa for this new licence, but is yet to issue a decision on Xarelto as it is still awaiting approval from the European Medicines Agency for this new indication.
Eliquis is also yet to be approved by the EMA for stroke and systemic embolism prevention in AF patients.
Pfizer and BMS’ drug is orally administered and helps to prevent blood from clotting by stopping Factor Xa from working.
Patients undergoing hip or knee replacement surgery are at a high risk of blood clots forming in the veins – these clots can be dangerous and even fatal if they move to another part of the body such as the lungs.
NICE said that Eliquis 2.5mg daily costs £17.15, £34.30 and £102.90 for packs of 10, 20 and 60 tablets respectively.
This is compared to the higher costs of Xarelto 10mg, which costs £44.15 for a 10-tab pack. A higher dose form Pradaxa 75mg and 110mg currently costs £21 for a 10-cap pack and £126 for a 60-cap pack, according to the British National Formulary.
Ben Adams
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