AstraZeneca's Brilinta meets endpoint in Plavix comparison

Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca has reported top-line results from the Phase III PLATO trial, which demonstrate that Brilinta (ticagrelor)  achieved a statistically significant primary efficacy endpoint versus  Sanofi-Aventis' Plavix (clopidogrel), in the prevention of  cardiovascular events in patients with acute  coronary syndromes. The  news sent AstraZeneca's shares up 5% on May 11, while Sanofi fell 1.3%

The primary efficacy measure was time to first occurrence of any event  from the composite of myocardial infarction, stroke and CV death. In  PLATO, the overall safety profile for the investigational oral  antiplatelet drug was in line with the safety data observed in mid-stage  studies, the firm noted. Given the size of the PLATO trial, further  analysis of the entire database, secondary variables and subgroups is  ongoing, and AstraZeneca plans to present the data at the European  Society of Cardiology annual meeting in August. The submission of the  agent to regulatory authorities remains on schedule for the fourth  quarter.