Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer’s Eliquis earns NICE approval

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer have been granted a recommendation from the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for their anticoagulant therapy Eliquis.

The regulator has endorsed the drug as a means of reducing the risk of stroke and blood clots among atrial fibrillation sufferers after clinical studies showed that it offers a number of benefits compared to the commonly-used therapy warfarin.

There is a pressing need for more therapy options for patients in this group, as treatment with warfarin requires regular monitoring of the blood's clotting properties and is associated with numerous side effects, meaning it can often cause greater inconvenience than atrial fibrillation itself.

Professor Carole Longson, director at NICE's health technology evaluation centre, said: "From the evidence submitted, the committee concluded that apixaban was more clinically effective than warfarin for the primary efficacy outcome of reducing stroke and systemic embolism."

The drug was also approved by US regulators in December 2012 and has received its recommendation from NICE following a fast-tracked appraisal process.