Novartis study shows cost-effectiveness benefits of Xolair

Novartis has published a new study that shows the benefits its asthma therapy Xolair can have in terms of reducing healthcare spending in the UK.

Data from a study called Apex has shown that use of the omalizumab-based therapy for one year can greatly reduce the number of hospital admissions among patients with severe persistent allergic asthma, thus minimising the use of NHS resources.

Moreover, the drug was also shown to deliver significant benefits in terms of quality of life in a real-world setting, an important discovery for a patient population with limited access to therapy options.

This comes in addition to previous clinical studies showing the safety and efficacy of Xolair as an add-on therapy, as well as its ability to reduce exacerbations and the need for concomitant medication.

Neil Barnes, professor of respiratory medicine at Barts and the London NHS Trust, said: "These study results show that in real-life practice omalizumab improves [patients'] quality of life, reduces the number of worsenings and hospital admissions."

Earlier this month, the company was granted European regulatory approval for an expanded indication for its clinically proven diabetes treatment Galvus.