UPDATE 1-UK's NICE recommends Bayer drug Xarelto

* Xarelto considered cost-effective for use on NHS

* Final guidance expected next month

* Drug to be assessed by U.S. FDA panel on March 19

(Adds details, background)

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Bayer's BAYG.DE anticoagulant pill Xarelto has been recommended for reimbursement on the state health service by Britain's cost-effectiveness watchdog, the German drugmaker said on Thursday.

Subject to appeal, the National Institute for Health Clinical Excellence expects to publish final guidance on the medicine to the National Health Service next month.

Xarelto -- a key new product for Bayer -- was launched in Europe last October for the prevention of blood clots after hip or knee replacement surgery, competing against Sanofi-Aventis's (SASY.PA) established Lovenox injection.

Bayer estimates eventual global peak sales of Xarelto, which it is developing with partner Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), could reach 2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) a year for all indications.

It is not yet approved in the United States but will be assessed by a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee on March 19.

While the drug will initially be used after surgery, the big commercial potential lies in using it to prevent strokes in people with atrial fibrillation, a common heart arrhythmia. ($1=.7946 Euro) (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Simon Jessop)