The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), the influential UK authority responsible for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of medicines, has recommended the use of Novartis' Elidel Cream (pimecrolimus) for treating certain cases of atopic eczema (AE). The decision means that patients and clinicians will continue to benefit from a steroid-free therapy, a company release said.

The Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) released by NICE earlier recommends that Elidel should be used for the treatment of moderate AE on the face and neck in children aged 2-16, where the disease has not been controlled by topical corticosteroids and there is a risk of adverse effects from further steroid use.

The decision comes after doctors and patients challenged a preliminary recommendation issued by NICE on 5 April 2004, which questioned whether Elidel should be made available on the National Health Service (NHS). In this FAD, NICE said it had been persuaded by clinical experts that Elidel was a useful treatment option for moderate facial AE in children.

Dr. Tom Poyner, vice chair of the Primary Care Dermatology Society, said, "This is good news for general practitioners who can now continue to prescribe Elidel for some patients with atopic eczema. Some patients and parents, as well as healthcare professionals, experience problems and have concerns when using topical steroids on the face. This decision now allows GPs to continue to offer Elidel as an effective alternative to steroid treatment."

Margaret Cox, CEO of the National Eczema Society, said, "Eczema can be an extremely distressing condition for children and parents, especially if it appears on the face. Patients go through real physical and emotional problems that can interfere with schooling and study, and impairs family and social relationships. The final NICE decision means that many patients and clinicians will now have access to another effective treatment for atopic eczema on the NHS."

The decision on Elidel should be issued by NICE to the NHS in England and Wales within the next 10 weeks. This decision will then form the guidance for clinical practice within the NHS, the release says.

Elidel, developed by Novartis, is the only steroid-free prescription cream and is currently available in more than 80 countries. It is licensed for the short-term and intermittent long-term treatment of mild to moderate atopic eczema, to prevent the progression of flare-ups in both children and adults.

Atopic eczema (also known as atopic dermatitis) is a chronic, persistent disease in which the skin is typically dry, rough and scaly. Patients suffer from intermittent 'flare-ups' in which the skin becomes red, swollen and itchy, creating an uncontrollable urge to scratch and resulting in broken, oozing and bleeding skin.