Safer drug on the way to reduce the risk of strokes?

The Social Security department, which licenses what drugs can be prescribed in the Island, is currently considering adding the blood thinner Pradaxa to its list after it was given the final go-ahead for use in the UK.

This week the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued its final guidance on Pradaxa, which has been hailed as the biggest step forward in blood-thinning treatments for 50 years.

It has been billed as a ‘wonder drug’ that is safer, better and easier to use than warfarin, which has been prescribed to patients who are at an increased risk of strokes for decades.

• Full story in Friday’s JEP.