Science minister lobbies health department over ticagrelor

Source: BMJ Area: News According to a report in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), Government ministers are stepping up efforts to boost NHS prescriptions of recommended new drugs made by companies with a significant presence in the United Kingdom. This follows growing complaints from the drug industry that doctors are not prescribing drugs which have been recommended by NICE.   The example of ticagrelor is highlighted - this has been approved by NICE as a treatment option for adults with acute coronary syndromes but is more costly than clopidogrel (£54.60 versus £3.40 per month). AstraZeneca say that only 42% of hospitals in England are currently funding routine access to ticagrelor.   According to the report, the science minister (David Willetts) has discussed the uptake of ticagrelor as part of broader regular discussions on the adoption of drugs in line with the government's strategy for UK life sciences and the recommendation of the NHS chief executive's report Innovation, ...
Source: NeLM - Cardiovascular Medicine - Category: Cardiology Source Type: news