The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7439 p182
17 February 2007

This article
Reprint   Photocopy

  Acrobat Reader

News summary

Donepezil orodispersible tablets approved for use in NHS Scotland

Donepezil orodispersible tablets have been accepted for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease by the Scottish Medicines Consortium.

In its latest set of approvals, the SMC endorsed donepezil (Aricept Evess; Eisai) orodispersible tablets for use in NHS Scotland for the symptomatic treatment of mild to moderately severe Alzheimer’s dementia in patients who have difficulty in swallowing solid formulations and for whom donepezil is appropriate. In England and Wales donepezil is not recommended for people with mild Alzheimer’s disease and, on the basis of this, Eisai has launched legal proceedings against the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (PJ, 15 January, p42).

The SMC also accepted deferasirox (Exjade; Novartis) for the treatment of chronic iron overload associated with the treatment of rare acquired or inherited anaemias requiring recurrent blood transfusions, although it is not recommended for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.

In addition, tacrolimus (Prograf; Astellas) has been accepted for the prophylaxis of transplant rejection in heart allograft recipients; human fibrinogen and human thrombin medicated sponge (TachoSil; Nycomed) has been accepted for supportive treatment in surgery for the improvement of haemostasis where standard techniques are insufficient; and propiverine hydrochloride (Detrunorm XL; Amdipharm) modified release capsules have been accepted for the treatment of urinary incontinence and of urgency and frequency in patients with overactive bladder.

The SMC rejected four medicines in this latest batch of assessments: rimonabant (Acomplia; sanofi-aventis) as an adjunct to diet and exercise for obese or overweight patients with associated risk factors; sunitinib (Sutent) for the treatment of advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma after failure of interferon-alfa or interleukin-2 therapy; pemetrexed (Alimta; Eli Lilly) as monotherapy for the second-line treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer; and interferon beta-1b (Betaferon; Schering) for patients at high risk of developing multiple sclerosis who have a single demyelinating event with an active inflammatory process severe enough to warrant treatment with intravenous cortico-steroids.