New heart failure medicine to be available to the NHS

Novartis has announced that its investigational heart failure treatment LCZ696 (sacubitril valsartan) has been given a positive scientific opinion under the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS) for patients with significant unmet medical need. This allows LCZ696 (sacubitril valsartan) to be made available to eligible patients before a final European licensing decision is made. It is the first time a drug not intended to treat cancer has been recognised under EAMS. Heart failure affects around 550,000 people in the UK and costs the NHS about £2.3 billion a year. Heart failure has a