UK Xonvea Access Varies by Area as £28 Drug Costs Outstrip £3 Alternatives
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 29
UK Xonvea Access Varies by Area as £28 Drug Costs Outstrip £3 Alternatives
1 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 29
Summary
Seven weeks after requesting Xonvea, a Hampshire woman with Hyperemesis Gravidarum finally got the prescription from her GP, after saying a private doctor issued it within minutes.
£28-per-pack Xonvea is often harder to obtain than older anti-sickness drugs costing about £3 or £4, even though national guidance lists it as an equal first-line option.
Local Integrated Care Boards decide whether and how the drug appears on formularies, creating what Pregnancy Sickness Support called a "postcode lottery" with extra criteria in some areas.
NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight said Xonvea is available locally but not the preferred first-line treatment, while the UK government said a Single National Formulary is being developed to improve consistency.