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Vadadustat is an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl-hydroxylase inhibitor that stimulates red blood cell production. It is licensed for symptomatic anaemia associated with chronic kidney disease in adults receiving chronic maintenance dialysis. Treatment requires specialist monitoring.
Valaciclovir hydrochloride is an oral antiviral that is rapidly converted in the body to aciclovir. It is used to treat or suppress selected herpes simplex and varicella-zoster infections and, in specialist transplant care, to prevent cytomegalovirus infection and disease.
Valganciclovir is an antiviral that the body converts into ganciclovir. It is used mainly to treat cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in adults with AIDS and to prevent CMV disease in certain solid-organ transplant recipients.
Valproate semisodium is a mood stabiliser that provides valproate in the body. Selected products are licensed for manic episodes in bipolar disorder when no other effective or tolerated treatment is available.
Valproic acid is an anticonvulsant that reduces excessive electrical activity in the brain. The selected Convulex capsule is licensed for generalised, partial and other forms of epilepsy, with important restrictions for people aged under 55 and during pregnancy.
Valsartan is an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB). It lowers blood pressure and is also used in selected adults with heart failure or after a recent heart attack.
Vamorolone is a corticosteroid used under specialist care to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy in patients aged 4 years and older. It may help stabilise or improve muscle function.
Vancomycin hydrochloride is a glycopeptide antibiotic used mainly for serious infections caused by susceptible Gram-positive bacteria. Intravenous treatment is used for systemic infections, while oral treatment acts mainly within the bowel for Clostridioides difficile infection.
Vandetanib is a targeted anti-cancer treatment called a protein kinase inhibitor. It is used under specialist supervision for aggressive, symptomatic RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer that cannot be removed surgically or has spread.
Vardenafil hydrochloride trihydrate is a phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor. It helps adult men with erectile dysfunction achieve and maintain an erection when sexually stimulated; it does not cause sexual arousal.
Varenicline is a prescription treatment that helps adults stop smoking. It reduces nicotine craving and withdrawal and can make smoking feel less rewarding.
Varenicline tartrate is a prescription, nicotine-free treatment that helps adults stop smoking. It reduces nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms and makes smoking less rewarding; behavioural support can improve the chance of success.
Varicella-zoster virus causes chickenpox and can reactivate as shingles. Varilrix uses weakened live virus to prevent chickenpox, while Shingrix uses a recombinant viral protein with an adjuvant to prevent shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia.
A live attenuated vaccine containing weakened varicella-zoster virus. It stimulates immunity against chickenpox and may be considered after exposure in susceptible people.
Vecuronium bromide is a non-depolarising neuromuscular blocker used with general anaesthesia. It temporarily paralyses skeletal muscles to help place a breathing tube and provide muscle relaxation during surgery; it does not cause unconsciousness or relieve pain.
Vedolizumab is a gut-selective biological treatment that reduces inflammatory immune-cell movement into the bowel. In adults, it is used for moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease when certain other treatments have not worked, stopped working or were not tolerated. The intravenous formulation is also licensed for selected adults with chronic pouchitis.
Velaglucerase alfa is a recombinant enzyme replacement therapy for type 1 Gaucher disease. It replaces deficient beta-glucocerebrosidase, helping reduce the fatty material stored in certain cells.
Velmanase alfa is a recombinant form of human alpha-mannosidase. It is an enzyme replacement therapy for non-neurological manifestations of mild to moderate alpha-mannosidosis.
Vemurafenib is an oral targeted anticancer treatment that blocks abnormal BRAF signalling. It is licensed as monotherapy for adults with BRAF V600 mutation-positive melanoma that cannot be removed surgically or has spread.
Venetoclax is a targeted anticancer treatment that blocks BCL-2, a protein that helps some cancer cells survive. In adults, it is used in selected chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and acute myeloid leukaemia treatment plans under specialist supervision.
Venlafaxine hydrochloride, usually called venlafaxine, is a serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressant. It is used for depression and, in selected prolonged-release products, several anxiety disorders.
Verapamil hydrochloride is a rate-limiting calcium channel blocker that relaxes blood vessels and slows electrical conduction through the heart. Selected products are licensed for high blood pressure, angina and certain rapid heart rhythms; one modified-release product also has a restricted role after myocardial infarction.
Vericiguat is a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator used for certain adults with symptomatic chronic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. In the UK, it is licensed after a recent worsening event requiring intravenous treatment, once the person is stabilised, and is used alongside other heart-failure therapies.
Vernakalant hydrochloride is an intravenous antiarrhythmic used in adults to restore sinus rhythm from recently started atrial fibrillation. It is given by a healthcare professional in a monitored cardioversion setting.
Verteporfin is a photosensitiser used during photodynamic therapy for selected disorders involving abnormal blood vessels beneath the retina. It is infused into a vein and activated by precisely directed, non-thermal red light in the eye.
Vestronidase alfa is a recombinant enzyme replacement therapy for mucopolysaccharidosis VII (MPS VII, or Sly syndrome). It replaces deficient beta-glucuronidase to help clear accumulated glycosaminoglycans and is licensed for non-neurological manifestations of the condition.
Vibegron is a beta-3 adrenergic receptor agonist that relaxes the bladder muscle while the bladder fills. It is licensed for symptomatic treatment of overactive bladder syndrome in adults, including urgency, increased urinary frequency and urge urinary incontinence.
A live, weakened oral vaccine that stimulates immunity against Vibrio cholerae serogroup O1. It is used for selected travellers after an individual risk assessment and does not replace careful food, water and hand hygiene.
Vigabatrin is an antiseizure treatment that increases the calming effect of GABA in the brain. It is mainly reserved for infantile spasms or resistant focal epilepsy when suitable alternatives have not worked or cannot be tolerated.
Vildagliptin is a DPP-4 inhibitor used with diet and exercise to improve blood glucose control in adults with type 2 diabetes. It may be used alone when metformin is unsuitable, or alongside other glucose-lowering treatments, including insulin.
Vinblastine sulfate is a cytotoxic vinca alkaloid that stops dividing cells from completing cell division. It is usually given by a specialist cancer team, alone or with other anticancer treatments, for certain lymphomas and selected solid tumours.
Vincristine sulfate is a vinca alkaloid chemotherapy that disrupts cell division. It is usually used in specialist combination treatment for blood cancers and selected solid tumours.
Vindesine sulfate is a cytotoxic vinca alkaloid that stops dividing cells from completing mitosis. In the UK, it is an intravenous specialist treatment for selected cancers, sometimes alongside other anticancer treatments.
Vinorelbine is a vinca-alkaloid chemotherapy that interferes with cancer-cell division. UK products are licensed mainly for non-small-cell lung cancer and advanced breast cancer, either alone or with other anticancer treatments depending on the formulation and clinical setting.
Vismodegib is an oral anticancer treatment that blocks Hedgehog signalling. In adults, it is used for symptomatic metastatic basal cell carcinoma or locally advanced disease that is unsuitable for surgery or radiotherapy.
A hospital-administered intravenous combination of vitamins B1, B2, B6, nicotinamide and vitamin C, used when severe depletion or poor absorption requires rapid replacement rather than as a routine multivitamin supplement.
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant. This medicinal form contains RRR-alpha-tocopherol and is licensed to replace vitamin E in adults with ataxia with vitamin E deficiency (AVED), rather than for routine supplementation with a balanced diet.
Voclosporin is a calcineurin-inhibitor immunosuppressant used to reduce immune-driven kidney inflammation. In the UK, it is licensed with mycophenolate mofetil for adults with active class III, IV or V lupus nephritis.
Volanesorsen sodium is an antisense oligonucleotide that lowers triglycerides by reducing production of apolipoprotein C-III. It is used alongside diet for selected adults with genetically confirmed familial chylomicronaemia syndrome (FCS), inadequate response to other triglyceride-lowering measures and a high risk of pancreatitis.
Von Willebrand factor is a plasma-derived clotting-factor concentrate. It temporarily replaces deficient or poorly functioning factor in von Willebrand disease, helping platelets seal damaged blood vessels and protecting factor VIII from breakdown.
Vonicog alfa is a recombinant form of human von Willebrand factor, a protein needed for normal blood clotting. It replaces deficient or poorly functioning factor in von Willebrand disease when desmopressin alone is ineffective or unsuitable.
Vorasidenib blocks abnormal IDH1 and IDH2 proteins. It is used after surgery for certain grade 2 astrocytomas or oligodendrogliomas when immediate chemotherapy or radiotherapy is not needed.
Voretigene neparvovec is a gene therapy for inherited retinal dystrophy caused by harmful changes in both copies of the RPE65 gene. It delivers a working RPE65 gene to retinal cells, aiming to improve functional vision where enough viable retina remains.
Voriconazole is a triazole antifungal used for serious, potentially life-threatening fungal infections. It treats selected invasive Aspergillus, Candida, Scedosporium and Fusarium infections and can prevent invasive fungal infection in certain high-risk stem-cell transplant recipients.
Vortioxetine hydrobromide provides vortioxetine, a prescription antidepressant. The selected product is licensed to treat major depressive episodes in adults.
Voxelotor was developed to reduce red-cell sickling and haemolytic anaemia in sickle cell disease. All UK supplies were withdrawn in September 2024 after evidence suggested an unfavourable balance of painful crises and deaths. It should not be started; anyone retaining tablets should contact their specialist team.
Vutrisiran sodium is a small interfering RNA treatment that reduces production of transthyretin protein in the liver. It is used in adults with specified forms of transthyretin amyloidosis affecting the nerves or heart.