mesalazine (Asacol)

Advice

Following an abbreviated submission

Mesalazine 800 mg modified release tablet (Asacol) is accepted for use in NHS Scotland for the treatment of moderate acute exacerbations of ulcerative colitis up to a maximum dose of 4.8 g daily.

The maximum recommended dose has been increased from 2.4 g daily, and at the revised dose, the 800 mg strength allows halving of the pill burden compared with the 400 mg formulation. There will be a pro-rata increase in cost associated with the new maximum dose but no extra costs arise from the change in formulation.