HAMPSHIRE — The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board has included Xonvea, a medication for pregnancy sickness, in its official formulary of approved prescription medications. This decision allows National Health Service (NHS) patients in the region to access the treatment.

Xonvea is the brand name for the drug combination of Doxylamine Succinate and Pyridoxine Hydrochloride. Professor of Obstetric Medicine Catherine Nelson-Piercy said, "of all the drugs that we use to manage nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, Xonvea is the only one that has a specific label for use to treat nausea, vomiting and hyperemesis." She added, "That means the Medicines Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA) has said this drug is safe, this drug is effective, we've reviewed all the evidence."

Charity representative Marianne Eldridge stated, "Getting hold of Xonvea in the UK at the moment is really difficult. It's a postcode lottery drug." She said, "We are calling for equality of access to this medication for women in the UK who are suffering with pregnancy sickness and would like to try it, so we just want it to be an option for everybody if they would like to have it." Eldridge noted that a survey conducted last year by Pregnancy Sickness Support found that the majority of women who had used Xonvea considered it effective.

Neil Hardy, Chief Pharmacist for NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said, "Xonvea is included on the local formulary as an option for treating nausea and vomiting in pregnancy." However, he stated, "Following evidence review, it is not currently the preferred first-line treatment option, but it can be considered for women who have not responded to, or are not suitable for, other established treatments." Xonvea costs approximately £28 per packet, while older first-line antihistamine anti-sickness drugs cost around £3 or £4 per packet. Nelson-Piercy said, "Because of the different costs of Xonvea as opposed to these other first-line antihistamine anti-sickness drugs, it is actually unlikely to be the drug she's offered first if she goes to a general practitioner in this country." She clarified, "It's an equally effective drug, or equally safe drug, as all the others, so the guideline doesn't specify use Xonvea before a different anti-histamine, or use it after, it's just equal place, it's one of the first line treatments."

After its approval in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight formulary, it took seven weeks for a GP to prescribe Xonvea to a patient who had requested it due to a severe history of Hyperemesis Gravidarum. The patient found the medication "completely life-changing" and said she "could function." Hardy acknowledged that experiences with accessing medicines can vary and welcomed progress towards a national formulary to support greater consistency across the NHS.