UK's NICE guidance on VTE, multiple myeloma, glaucoma and ocular hypertension

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the UK body that determines which drugs will be covered by the National Health  Service for patients outside Scotland, has issued a range of documents  concerning venous thomboembolism (VTE), multiple myeloma, chronic open  angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension (OHT).

Germany-based Bayer HealthCare's Xarelto (rivaroxaban), an oral  anticoagulant, has been recommended for the prevention of VTE after  knee- or hip-replacement surgery by the NICE in its Final Guidance.  Bayer noted that VTE costs the NHS GBP640.0 million ($958.7 million) per  year, with a further GBP19.0 million spent in litigation fees defending  tort actions brought by the relatives of deceased VTE patients. 32,000  people a year die in NHS hospitals from VTE, more than HIV/AIDS, breast  cancer and road traffic accidents combined, Bayer said.

Xarelto, an oral direct Factor Xa inhibitor, is up to 70% more effective  at reducing blood clots than the existing standard therapy, injectable  enoxaparin, as well as being less invasive. Ajay Kakkar, professor of  surgical sciences at Barts and the London School of Medicine and  Dentistry, who is also director of the London-headquartered Thrombosis  Research Institute, said: "venous thromboemolism is the commonest  avoidable cause of hospital death." He added that the NICE ruling "means  we have another effective method to prevent potentially-fatal blood  clots" and stressed that preventative treatment outside a hospital  setting is now an option.