In a much appreciated step, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has come out to defend Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH's Pradaxa blood thinner, which is told to have significant effect in patients dealing with inconsistent heart beat.

However, UK's medical-cost regulator has made it clear that the final call on Pradaxa would be made after an "informed discussion about the risks and benefits of dabigatran compared with warfarin".

There have been reports that indicate that there have been a stern competition between Ingelheim based Boehringer and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Pfizer Inc. (PFE) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) over making way for Pradaxa, but it seems that there are fair chances for Pradaxa to replace warfarin.

Furthermore, Carole Longson, a NICE Director, has openly admitted that there were some disagreements over the cost of the drug against the benefits attached. It has been told that Pradaxa could cost a patient nearly 920 pounds every year as per the recommended dose.

"There were a number of uncertainties relating to the drug's cost-effectiveness in the original evidence submission", said Carole Longson, while confirming that the NICE would be moving further with the process so that justified step can be taken.

It has been known that the heart drug Pradaxa had been facing critical views from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and another Canadian drug safety watchdog, though Medsafe remained defiant over the safety of the drug.

Approved in 2008, the drug is told to have been prescribed for blood clots in patients while they are facing a major surgery. Later on July 1, it was told that it could be used to prevent heart strokes for patients with heart rhythm disorder. However, the drug faced a major debacle when there were many reports of excessive bleeding after patients consumed the drug.