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news.The UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended Daiichi Sankyo's once-daily Lixiana (Edoxaban) to help prevent strokes and systemic embolism in patients suffering from non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF).
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NICE has issued a final appraisal determination (FAD) for Lixiana to help patients with a heart flutter who have an increased risk of stroke.
The draft guidance states that edoxaban is recommended, within its marketing authorization, as an option for preventing stroke and systemic embolism in these adults with one or more risk factors, including congestive heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, prior stroke or transient ischaemic attack and who are aged 75 years or older.
Edoxaban is one of the class of blood-thinning drugs known as novel oral anti-coagulants (NOACs), which are used as an alternative to warfarin.
In the draft guidance, NICE noted the committee concluded that edoxaban was cost effective compared with warfarin taking all of the analyses into account.
Daiichi Sankyo UK managing director Dr Simon Clough said: "We are very pleased to be able to offer patients and doctors in England and Wales a new, convenient-to-use alternative in the treatment armoury against AF-related illness.
"It is extremely gratifying that we have received NICE FADs for both AF and VTE within a very short time after gaining European authorisation.
"NICE has recognised an unmet clinical need among patients with AF and this recommendation confirms the value of edoxaban, which combines convenience and safety with features compared to warfarin that patients and physicians appreciate."
It could be recommended as an alternative to warfarin for preventing stroke and systemic embolism in people with non-valvular atrial fibrillation who have one or more risk factors for stroke.
Warfarin has been widely used for more than 50 years but requires frequent monitoring to ensure the drug is working properly and is also associated with many food or drug interactions.
In non-valvular AF, heart beats irregularly which means that blood can pool and thicken in the chambers of the heart, causing a risk of clots which then go on to cause strokes.