The number of prescription items dispensed annually to treat alcohol dependency has risen by 63% in the last eight years.

The total cost to the NHS of drugs for alcoholism increased by 45% between 2003 (£1.72m) and 2011 (£2.49m), including 3% in the last year.

These figures in the report Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2012 reflect increases both in the prevalence of alcoholism and in NHS investment in drugs to treat it.

The report also showed a 40% increase since 2003 in hospital admissions where alcohol abuse was the primary diagnosis, reaching 198,900 in 2011.

Hospital admissions where alcohol abuse was either the primary or a secondary diagnosis reached 1,168,300 in 2011, an increase of 11% on the previous year and of 130% on 2003.

The north-west had the highest number of prescription items for alcoholism at 517 per 100,000 people, while London had the lowest at 138 per 100,000.

Tim Straughan, Chief Executive of HSCIC, commented: “This report shows how drinking in England has impacted upon admissions to our hospitals and prescriptions dispensed in our communities.”

The NHS Commissioning Board has contracted management consultancy firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) to support the CCG authorisation process.

The £3.4m contract covers such functions as document assessment and assessor training as well as moderation and evaluation of the process.

PwC will also provide panel members for the CCG ‘panel visits’ that form part of the assessment process.

Dame Barbara Hakin, introducing the contract to the Board, noted that it was important not to “underestimate the magnitude of the CCG authorisation process”.

The authorisation support contract will run from 22 May to 31 March 2013.

NICE has changed its original decision on the use of Xarelto (rivaroxaban) as an option for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and preventing recurrent DVT and pulmonary embolism (PE).

The Institute now recommends Xarelto’s use in final draft guidance after Bayer supplied requested data on the long-term clinical and cost effectiveness of the treatment.

Professor Carole Longson, NICE Health Technology Evaluation Centre Director, said the “additional information and analysis” convinced NICE’s Appraisal Committee.

Earlier this year in March, NICE issued draft guidance that failed to recommend Xarelto after concerns were raised about its use in the context of UK clinical practice.

However, Bayer supplied the requested information on patients who were assigned treatment durations of 3, 6 and 12 months and data on the drug’s cost effectiveness compared to existing options.

As a result, the Committee concluded that Xarelto is more clinically and cost effective than enoxaparin followed by a vitamin K antagonist for preventing recurrent VTE in people in whom treatment for up to 12 months is indicated.

There are believed to be more than 46,000 cases of acute DVT in England and Wales with that figure expected to rise to nearly 50,000 by 2016 due to the ageing population.

Xarelto was recently shortlisted for the globally acclaimed Prix Galien medal.

NICE has failed to recommend Pharmaxis’ Bronchitol in preliminary draft guidance for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF).

Its independent Appraisal Committee raised concerns over “gaps and uncertainties” in the evidence provided by Pharmaxis on the treatment compared with existing options.

Dr Carole Longson, Health Technology Evaluation Centre Director at NICE said the evidence supplied “did not support a positive recommendation”.

Alongside comparative concerns, the Committee also decided the analysis provided by Pharmaxis was not a true reflection of clinical practice or the efficacy of Bronchitol.

CF is one of the UK’s most common life-threatening inherited diseases that affects around 8,000 people.

The treatment, which has a marketing authorisation as an add-on therapy to best standard of care, is conveniently administered by inhalation with an inhaler. It is a proprietary dry powder form of mannitol.

The draft guidance is now open for consultation with a final decision expected in August 2012.

The NHS is placing too much emphasis on ‘breakthrough drugs’ rather than on diverse and incremental innovation, according to the ABPI.

An updated report on pharmaceutical innovation commissioned by the UK trade association warns that by focusing on unique medical solutions, the NHS risks narrowing the scope of medicines.

ABPI Chief Executive Stephen Whitehead (pictured), launching the report, commented: “I fear for the future of UK medical research.”

The Many Faces of Innovation was commissioned by the ABPI from the Office of Healthcare Economics, updating a 2005 report commissioned by EFPIA.

As well as providing new case studies, the updated report places pharmaceutical innovation in the context of the UK health economy of 2012.

The report attacks the dichotomy between ‘breakthrough’ and ‘me-too’ products, arguing that innovation can be incremental – especially where ‘stratified’ medicine is concerned.

In addition, innovation has several dimensions: it could bring “advances in health gains”, “cost savings in health services” or “advances in patients’ and/or carers’ convenience”.

Finally, medical research benefits from multiple companies tackling the same problem – so it’s not helpful for there to be only one ‘winner’.

The report implicitly criticises NICE for assuming that each medical problem has one ‘best’ solution and that ‘value’ has a single metric.

The forthcoming medicine pricing negotiations will mark a watershed for the industry, Whitehead said: “If we minimise the reward for innovation in the UK, then our manufacturers will go abroad. Our industry, our economy, and our healthcare system will suffer – UK patients will suffer.”