Mycophenolate endorsed for transplant rejection in Scotland
Mycophenolate sodium (Myfortic) can be used within the NHS in Scotland for the prevention of acute transplant rejection, the Scottish
Medicines Consortium has announced.
In guidance issued earlier this month, the SMC recommended that mycophenolate
be used in combination with ciclosporin and corticosteroids in adult
patients receiving kidney transplants.
A further four products, three used in the treatment of epilepsy, were
accepted for
restricted use by the SMC.
Pregabalin (Lyrica) is endorsed for use as adjunctive therapy in adults
with partial seizures with or without secondary generalisation. The SMC
advises that it should be used principally to treat patients who have
not benefited from other antiepileptics such as carbamazepine or sodium
valproate, or for whom these drugs are not suitable. Levetiracetam (Keppra)
750mg tablets and 100mg/ml oral solution are recommended as additional
dosage forms also for use as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial
seizures with or without secondary generalisation.
Caspofungin (Cancidas) is also recommended for restricted use — to
treat presumed fungal infections in febrile, neutropenic adult patients
who are under the care of a fungal disease specialist.
Two drugs failed to receive an endorsement from the SMC: nicotinic acid
modified release tablets (Niaspan) is not recommended either as monotherapy
or in combination with statins for the treatment of dyslipidaemia and
primary hypercholesterolaemia, and
efalizumab (Raptiva) is not recommended for treatment of adults with
moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader