NICE Recommends Xarelto to Prevent Blood Clots in Heart Attack Patients

UK healthcare cost watchdogs confirmed last Friday that Bayer’s Xarelto is cost-effective for preventing blood clots in patients who have had heart attacks.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence issued its initial draft guidance recommending the drug in combination with aspirin and Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi’s Plavix (clopidogrel) or aspirin alone in October. NICE had already recommended the drug to prevent blood clots that occur as a result of atrial fibrillation.

In final draft guidance, NICE says that one 56-capsule pack of 2.5 mg Xarelto tablets would cost the National Health Service about $88, with a 12-month course of treatment setting the NHS back some $1,148 in purchase costs.

The review committee also determined that the drug would cost approximately $8,417 per quality of life year gained — well below NICE’s uppermost limit of $45,000.

The guidance will be finalized following a consultation period. View it at www.fdanews.com/01-23-15-Xarelto.pdf. — Lena Freund