AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) Brilinta for long term use as been recommended as a cost-effective option in the treatment of patients after they have had a heart attack, Britain’s healthcare cost watchdog reported. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence noted that Ticagrelor 60 mg, locally known as Brilique if sold in Britain for $1.3 a pill could help many people when used twice a day alongside aspirin. In the US, the wholesale acquisition cost is $5.14 per pill though most U.S patients are eligible for saving programs.
In the UK, a higher 90 mg dose of brillique is recommended for 12 months use after a heart attack. The new NICE draft guidance recommends continued use of the drug in lower dosages for a further three years so that it can help reduce the risk of fresh heart attacks or stroke. The lower-dose version of the drug was recommended for continued use by the US. Food and Drug Administration back in September and by the European authorizes in February.
AstraZeneca believes that the drug is an important driver for future sales. It believes it can reach a $3.5 billion sale level in a year. Current global sale during the first half were $395 million.
In other news, AstraZeneca has added an extra $140 million into early-stage RNA biotech Moderna Therapeutics adding to the company’s already huge venture capitalist cash pile of more than $1.2 billion. According to Reuters, the two had extended their deal this week though neither Moderna nor AstraZeneca have commented on the issue. This new cash boost comes only a few weeks after Moderna announced that it would start its first trial under its existing collaboration with AstraZeneca. The biotech’s primary focus on using messenger RNA is to spur the production of human proteins within patient cells, creating a video factory for targeted therapies.