"No Mortality Benefit" With Wyeth's Cordarone

According to data from two placebo-controlled, double-blindtrials, EMIAT and CAMIAT, Wyeth-Ayerst's Cordarone (amiodarone) has no effect on total mortality after myocardial infarction, although arrhythmic death may be reduced. The trials were published in The Lancet (March 8).

As was reported in the Marketletter last year (April 8, 1996), the efficacy and safety of Cordarone as an antiarrhythmic was seen in data presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in March 1996. These were the first large, controlled studies to demonstrate such effect, even though the drug had been on the market as an antiarrhythmic for a number of years.

EMIAT looked at whether Cordarone could lower mortality in 1,486 patients who were at high risk from death following an MI. The study did not take into account whether the patients had ventricular arrhythmias. Results from the trial demonstrated that there was no difference between placebo- and Cordarone-treated groups with regard to cardiac and all-cause mortality. It did find that there was a 35% risk reduction from arrhythmic death in the Cordarone group, although this was offset by a 33% increase in non-arrhythmic cardiac death.