Teva UK has launched a generic version of apixaban, an oral anticoagulant that directly inhibits factor X – factor Xa – thus restricting thrombin formation and the development of blood clots.
It will be made available as a preventative treatment for stroke and systemic embolism in adults with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), with one or more risk factors.
These factors include history of strokes or transient ischaemic attacks (TIA) and the treatment of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), and the prevention of recurrent DVT and PE in adults.
For those living with, or are deemed at risk for DVT or NVAF, the chances of strokes happening which are related to blood clots forming in the body and traveling to the brain is a serious concern.
DVT affects around one person in every 1,000 in the UK every year. If the condition is left untreated, approximately one in ten people with a DVT will go onto develop a PE, which occurs when a piece of blood clot enters into the bloodstream. This then leads to a blockage in one of the blood vessels in the lungs, preventing blood from reaching them.
The use of generics offers the NHS considerable savings, which will be used to help identify undiagnosed patients, and ensures that patients receive the treatments they need. There are currently an estimated 600,000 undiagnosed patients with atrial fibrillation in England.
