Bayer HealthCare receives NICE recommendation for Xarelto

Bayer HealthCare's novel oral anticoagulant Xarelto has been recommended by the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for use in the prevention of blood clots.

The rivaroxaban therapy has been recommended in finalised NICE guidance for use in combination with clopidogrel and aspirin, or with aspirin alone, as an option for preventing blood clots in people who have had an acute coronary syndrome.

Clinical data has shown that Xarelto is more effective than aspirin plus clopidogrel or aspirin alone for preventing further cardiovascular deaths and heart attacks in people with acute coronary syndrome and raised cardiac biomarkers.

Patients being considered for receiving the drug must first be assessed for their risk of bleeding, with careful consideration to be given to whether treatment is continued beyond 12 months due to a lack of long-term safety data.

Professor Carole Longson, director of NICE's Health Technology Evaluation Centre, said the drug has been deemed to be "a cost-effective use of NHS resources".

Xarelto is one of Bayer's key pharmaceutical products and will form a key pillar of its planned transformation into a more life science-focused business.