UK body backs limited use of Lilly anti-clot drug

* NICE says prasugrel an option for some heart patients

* Lilly/Daiichi drug a rival to Sanofi/Bristol's Plavix

LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly (LLY.N) and Daiichi Sankyo's (4568.T) anti-clotting drug prasugrel has been recommended for limited use on Britain's state-run National Health Service.

The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said on Friday the medicine, sold as Efient in Europe and Effient in the United States, should be considered as an option for some patients undergoing a procedure to clear blocked arteries.

But it should only be used in certain higher-risk percutaneous coronary intervention patients, according to the agency's final appraisal determination (link.reuters.com/fub84d).

Recently launched prasugrel competes with Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA) and Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMY.N) drug Plavix, which has worldwide sales of $9 billion a year, as a treatment for heart-attack patients.

Plavix, or clopidogrel, plus aspirin has been the mainstay treatment for many years but it is now facing competition. In addition to Effient, a new rival called Brilinta from AstraZeneca (AZN.L) could reach the market next year.

Deciding how to use these new medicines is an important economic issue for cash-strapped healthcare services, especially since Plavix is losing patent protection and will soon be widely available as a cheap generic.

For an analysis on the anti-clotting drug market, click on [ID:nL1530044] (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Mike Nesbit)