Draft guidance from UK's NICE for people with peripheral arterial disease

Final draft guidance published last week by the UK drug rationing body the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) confirms its previous positive draft recommendation for naftidrofuryl oxalate as an option to treat people who suffer from intermittent claudication caused by peripheral arterial disease and for whom vasodilator therapy is considered appropriate after taking into account other treatment options.

Naftidrofuryl oxalate is one of four drugs, often referred to as vasodilators, that NICE is assessing as part of this appraisal. Vasodilators relax the smooth muscle in blood vessels, which causes the vessels to dilate and therefore increases blood supply to the muscles. The evidence considered by the Appraisal Committee showed that the others – cilostazol (Pletal, from Otsuka Pharmaceuticals), pentoxifylline (Trental 400, from Sanofi-Aventis) and inositol nicotinate (Hepoxal, from Genus Pharmaceuticals) - are not as clinically effective compared with placebo as is naftidrofuryl oxalate.

Naftidrofuryl only vasodilator found to be cost-effective option