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news.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK has published a new draft guidance which recommends apixaban (Eliquis) as an option for treating and preventing potentially fatal blood clots.
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The anti-blood clotting drug apixaban can be used to treat venous thromboembolism (VTE) in adults, which is used to describe deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE).
Risk factors for VTE include a history of DVT, recent surgery, immobility and active cancer or cancer treatment and people with suspected DVT or PE are treated immediately with drugs that help to prevent the blood from clotting (anticoagulants).
Apixaban, which is given as a tablet, helps to prevent blood from clotting by stopping a substance called Factor Xa from working.
NICE Health Technology Evaluation Centre Director Carole Longson said: "For many people, using warfarin can be difficult because of the need for frequent tests to see if the blood is clotting properly, and having to adjust the dose of the drug if it is not.
"Apixaban, like the other newer oral anticoagulants already recommended by NICE for the treatment and secondary prevention of VTE, does not require frequent blood tests to monitor treatment and so represents a potential benefit for many people who have had a VTE."
Apixaban is the only oral anticoagulant for which the licensed dose is lower for secondary prevention than for initial treatment of VTE.