NICE gives nod to Bayer's Xarelto

The UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which advises on medical treatments under the National Health Service in  England and Wales, has issued an initial positive opinion on Bayer's  oral anticoagulant Xarelto (rvaroxaban) for the prevention of  potentially-fatal blood clots after elective hip or knee replacement  surgery.

The German drug major welcomed the NICE's Final Appraisal  Determination, giving the go-ahead for the use of the oral direct Factor  Xa inhibitors by the NHS. The compound is the first oral anticoagulant  to demonstrate superior efficacy to the current standard-of-care,  Sanofi-Aventis' market-leading drug Lovenox (enoxaparin) injection,  while maintaining a comparable side effect profile, Bayer noted.

Beverley Hunt, a consultant hematologist in the UK, said: "it is  terrific that NICE have reviewed Xarelto so quickly. A new,  highly-effective oral anticoagulant will encourage the  thromboprophylaxis implementation and greatly reduce the risk of  hospital-acquired clots after planned major orthopedic surgery."