NICE issues draft guidance for MSD's Ezetrol

NICE has published draft guidance recommending MSD’s Ezetrol as an option for some adults with high cholesterol. 

The guidance updates the last document published in 2007, and recommends Ezetrol (ezetimibe) for people with primary (heterozygous-familial and non-familial) hypercholesterolaemia, when a statin is considered inappropriate or is not tolerated.

The disease is an inherited condition caused by a faulty gene, causing high concentrations of cholesterol in the blood. It affects approximately around 120,000 people in the UK. People with this condition have raised cholesterol levels from birth.

People with hypercholesterolaemia have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to long term raised cholesterol levels accelerating the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries (atherosclerosis). The narrowing of the arteries can eventually lead to angina, heart attacks and strokes. 

Professor Carole Longson, director of the centre for health technology evaluation at NICE, says: “Primary hypercholesterolaemia is an important risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease, the most common cause of death in the UK, as well as being a major cause of morbidity and reduced quality of life. This draft guidance is therefore good news some people with this condition who are aren’t able to take a statin to reduce their cholesterol.”

Yasmita Kumar