UK's NICE backs AstraZeneca's new 'clot-busting' drug Brilique to treat ACS

In final draft guidance published today, the UK drugs watchdog the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has confirmed its previous positive draft recommendation for Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca’s Brilique (ticagrelor; also sold as Brilinta). The draft guidance recommends use on the National Health Service of ticagrelor within its licensed conditions (that is, in combination with aspirin and for up to 12 months) as an option to treat adults with acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

Ticagrelor, which was approved by European regulators last year and by the US Food and Drug Administration this summer (The Pharma Letters December 6, 2010 and July 21, 2011), belongs to a class of drugs called anti-platelets. These work by reducing or preventing the formation of blood clots. Ticagrelor is licensed for the treatment of people with ACS who are managed medically or who are having a procedure called a percutaneous coronary intervention to widen narrowed arteries in the heart.

The draft guidance recommends the use of ticagrelor, in combination with aspirin, as a treatment option in people with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who are to undergo primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and in people with non-NSTEMI. It is also recommended as a treatment option for people with unstable angina, which is defined as changes on electrocardiogram suggestive of ischemia plus one characteristic associated with cardiovascular disease.