New £900 stroke drug is given go-ahead, but only for some patients

Health officials have reached a deal to roll out an expensive new blood-thinning treatment to help prevent strokes across the NHS in Scotland – but not all patients will receive the drug.

Guidance to be passed to health boards suggests patients responding well to the current treatment, warfarin, will probably remain on the older drug.

But those not being treated or having problems tolerating warfarin – which costs around £10 a year – could be given Pradaxa, which costs around £900.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) said the guidance was not based on the cost of the new drug, but refused to give further details ahead of full advice being given to health boards by the end of next month.

It follows a special meeting set up to consider the treatment, which helps prevent strokes in patients with abnormal heart rhythm, following its approval by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) two weeks ago.

Pradaxa is the first of a number of new drugs in development to be licensed to reduce the risk of stroke patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

The condition – which affects an estimated 75,000 people in Scotland – causes a fast and irregular heart beat and raises someone’s risk of stroke five-fold.

Warfarin helps reduce this risk, but requires frequent monitoring. It is estimated that almost half of patients who should be on blood-thinning treatment are not receiving it.

Although Pradaxa can cause side-effects, it is hoped it might benefit more patients unable to cope with other treatments.

But concerns have previously been raised that the high cost of Pradaxa compared to the older treatment could make it difficult for the NHS – already under pressure to control its finances – to roll out across the country.

This led to officials discussing the treatment, and advice will be issued to health boards by the end of next month.

Dr Brian Robson, HIS medical director, said yesterday: “Healthcare Improvement Scotland is providing support to the clinical community, patient groups and planners with the development of the consensus statement.”

Andy Carver, prevention and care advisor for British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland, said: “The development of a consensus paper to support such an approach to this treatment seems to be a sensible way forward.”