Vildagliptin and nelarabine given green light for use in NHS Scotland
Vildagliptin and nelarabine are among drugs accepted for use by NHS Scotland by the Scottish Medicines Consortium this month.
Vildagliptin (Galvus)
has been approved in combination with metformin for patients with type
2 diabetes insufficiently controlled on the maximal
tolerated dose of metformin and for whom treatment with sulphonylureas
is not appropriate.
Although vildagliptin is licensed for use in combination
with sulphonylureas or thiazolidinedione drugs, the SMC was not able
to recommend its use in combination with these drugs, because the manufacturer’s
submission to the SMC only related to use in combination with metformin.
Nelarabine (Atriance)
has been approved for patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma whose disease
has not responded to (or has relapsed following) treatment with at least
two chemotherapy regimens and for whom nelarabine is being used as a
treatment to bridge to allogeneic stem cell transplant.
The SMC also approved methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta (Mircera)
for the treatment of anaemia associated with chronic kidney disease,
and accepted three medicines under its abbreviated submission process
for new formulations and doses: the three-in-one HIV medicine Atripla (efavirenz,
emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) and pre-filled pens
of insulin glargine (Lantus
Solostar) and insulin glulisine (Apidra
Solostar).
The SMC did not accept either maraviroc (Celsentri)
or paliperidone prolonged release tablets (Invega)
because it was not satisfied with the economic analysis submitted. It
also did not accept retapamulin (Altargo)
because a submission was not made. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader