On 27 February, the UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) released final guidance recommending apixaban (Eliquis, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer) as an option for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in some people with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.
The guidance also recommends that the decision about whether to start treatment with apixaban should be made after an informed discussion about the risks and benefits of apixaban compared with warfarin, dabigatran etexilate and rivaroxaban, and in light of a person’s current level of international normalised ratio (INR) control if they are already taking warfarin.
Apixaban has a UK marketing authorisation for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and one or more risk factors such as prior stroke or transient ischaemic attack, age 75 years or older, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, or symptomatic heart failure (New York Heart Association [NYHA] class 2 or higher).
The final guidance is available here.
