NICE says no to Multaq

NICE has rejected Sanofi-Aventis’ new anti-blood clot treatment Multaq (dronedarone) for use on the NHS because of its cost.

According to NICE the cost per day of Multaq would be £2.25, which it found unacceptably high when compared to the generic medicine amiodarone that costs just five pence a day. NICE says its research indicated strongly that Multaq was no more beneficial than standard therapies and is therefore not cost effective.

NICE’s chief executive Andrew Dillon said: “The drug is much more expensive than existing treatments and the evidence suggests that on balance it offers little additional health benefit.”

Multaq is used on patients who have experienced an irregular heartbeat, atrial fibrillation (AFib) or atrial flutter (AFlutter), within the past six months, but who may currently have a regular heart rhythm or will have medical treatment to return to a regular rhythm.

Multaq gained US approval in July 2009 and then in European approval in November, and is one of Sanofi’s most important new products.

The company is depending on new drugs such as Multaq to sustain sales and offset generic competition and the restriction on use in the UK pharma market could damage the company’s long-term prospects.

NICE will make a final recommendation on whether the NHS should pay for Multaq after a consultation period that ends on 28 January.