NICE final guidance backs NHS use of Boehringer Ingelheim's Actilyse

In final guidance issued this morning (September 26), UK drugs watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recommended National Health Service use of German family-owned drug major Boehringer Ingelheim’s Actilyse (alteplase) for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke.

The NICE has backed alteplase as long as treatment is started as early as possible within 4.5 hours after onset of stroke symptoms, and after intracranial haemorrhage has been excluded by appropriate imaging techniques. The update was prompted by a change in the drug’s licence which allows an extension in the time period it can be used, from within 3 hours to within 4.5 hours of the onset of symptoms.

According to the UK Stroke Association, more than 130,000 people in England and Wales have a stroke each year. Mortality statistics from 2009 indicate that approximately 43,000 people died from stroke in England and Wales. More than 450,000 people in England live with severe disabilities as a result of stroke.