NICE issues draft guidance on Boehringer's Actilyse

UK drugs watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued draft guidance on Friday updating its previous recommendations on the use of Actilyse (alteplase) from German family-owned drug major Boehringer Ingelheim for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke.

The NICE has recommended alteplase for use within the National Health Service as long as treatment is started as early as possible within 4.5 hours after onset of stroke symptoms, and after intracranial hemorrhage 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 around 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.