A HEART drug that could prevent up to seven strokes a week, but that the HSE won’t fund is to be made available free by the NHS in the UK.
The UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has recommended Pradaxa for the prevention of strokes and clots.
The independent drug guidance body has said that UK patients have the right to receive Pradaxa free if their clinicians prescribe it.
The prescription blood thinner is claimed to be safer and more effective for many patients with atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat, than the widely used warfarin.
In a clinical trial of more than 18,000 people, Pradaxa 150mg capsules reduced the risk of stroke 35 per cent more than warfarin.
Last August, the Irish Medicines Board cleared Pradaxa for use in some patients with atrial fibrillation, a condition that affects 10 per cent of those aged over 80. The condition increases the risk of stroke by a factor of five.
Some Irish clinicians switched their atrial fibrillation patients to Pradaxa. Subsequent communications from the HSE however said that while those switched before November 9th would be reimbursed under the GMS scheme to remain on it, future patients would not.
The Irish Pharmaceutical Union has estimated that the price paid by the HSE for each Pradaxa capsule was about €3 – approximately 100 times that of warfarin.
The HSE said it would not fund the drug as it was “assessing the availability of resources in 2012 for the long-term treatment with Pradaxa for patients with atrial fibrillation”.
However, Mater hospital consultant in geriatric medicine, Dr Dermot Power, has said using Pradaxa could both prevent strokes and save on aftercare costs.
“It is estimated that the average cost of direct care for a stroke patient in the first year alone is €18,751,” Dr Power said. “New medicines such as these could help to prevent up to seven strokes a week.
“Not only would this reduce the number of deaths and severe disabilities caused by stroke, it would also reduce the number of nursing home admissions and, therefore, save approximately €7 million in care costs each year.”
