Go-ahead for injections that can 'cure' asthma

The health drugs watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has approved Xolair for use on the NHS.

Trials have shown the drug can halve the risks of asthma attacks and experts have hailed it a "wonder treatment".

It is the first asthma injection that has been genetically engineered to block the allergic triggers responsible for attacks.

The new drug stops the body overreacting to inhaled particles including pollen, cat fur and house-dust mites.

The news comes as figures show some hospitals in London have among the highest admission rates for asthma patients in the country.

City and Hackney admit around 140 people a year - more than 40 per cent above the national average.

But there are also huge variations in the figures. Kensington and Chelsea, for example, is more than 50 per cent below national rates.

There are around 5 million asthma sufferers in Britain and the cost to the health service is £8 billion a year.

Attacks occur when the body detects a foreign body or allergen and overreactsby producing huge amounts of antibodies.

More than 1,400 people - one every six hours - die each year in the UK as a result of breathing difficulties and others end up in hospital.

Around one in ten patients has such severe problems that they require high doses of powerful steroids.

But these are not always effective and can also lead to side-effects such as kidney damage and weight gain.

Inhalers and oral steroids also only suppress symptoms and do not treat the causes of the disease. Trials of Xolair, which also combats severe hay fever, have shown it cuts the risk of attacks in those with severe asthma by 55 per cent and reduces hospital admissions by just under half.

It costs £250 a jab. Most patients require at least two injections a month at a total cost of £6,000 a year. This had put it out of the reach of most people until today's decision by Nice to prescribe the new drug to severe sufferers of the disease.

Health charities welcomed the new asthma drug. Professor Mark Britton, vice-president of the British Lung Foundation, said: "Following the Nice guidance, it should be significantly easier, allowing us to set up appropriate systems to treat with this medication."

The consultant physician at St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey, added: 'This will have a significant impact on patients.

"Most patients have seen a major improvement in their quality of life and some have seen a dramatic improvement with a significant decrease in their need for other asthma therapy."