Sanofi-aventis receives SMC backing for Multaq

Sanofi-aventis has received the approval of the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) for its atrial fibrillation (AF) drug Multaq to be used among NHS patients in Scotland.

The SMC advised the NHS Boards and Area Drug and Therapeutic Committees that Multaq should be used for preventing the recurrence of AF in patients for whom conventional first-line anti-arrhythmic drugs have proven ineffective.

It comes after multiple clinical trials demonstrated the drug's effectiveness in reducing cardiovascular condition-induced fatalities and hospitalisations when compared to placebo.

The move has been welcomed by numerous Scottish health industry bodies, which said the approval will provide patients with a potentially useful new treatment option.

Steve Oldfield, general manager of Sanofi-aventis, added: "We are pleased that a new drug will be available for patients with atrial fibrillation, who have had no new treatment options available to them for 20 years."

This comes after Multaq was given a class I recommendation as a first-line AF treatment in new European Society of Cardiology guidelines published earlier this month.