UPDATE 1-Novartis gets EU nod for Xolair for children

* Gets backing for treatment of children aged 6-11 yrs

* Study shows Xolair cuts asthma attacks by 50 pct in 1 yr

* Xolair offers new treatment for some 35,000 children in EU (Adds details)

ZURICH, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG's (NOVN.VX) asthma drug Xolair has been approved by the European Commission as an add-on therapy for children aged 6 to 11 years suffering from severe persistent allergic asthma.

Asthma, which is estimated to affected 10 percent of children in Europe, is the most common cause of school absenteeism and can lead to the need for oral corticosteroid use in children, Novartis said in a statement.

The approval was based in part on a landmark study that showed Xolair reduced asthma attacks by 34 percent after 24 weeks of treatment and provided an overall reduction of 50 percent at one year in patients between 6 and 11 years old.

Novartis said that approved as add-on therapy, Xolair offers a new treatment approach to nearly 35,000 children in the EU with uncontrolled severe persistent allergic asthma.

Xolair is currently approved in 63 countries and has been used to treat more than 62,000 patients. (Reporting by Katie Reid; Editing by Rupert Winchester)