Oral dabigetran as effective as enoxaparin

German drug major Boehringer Ingelheim says that results from the RE-MODEL trial, which were presented at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held in Orlando, Florida, show that its new oral anticoagulant, dabigatran etexilate, could help achieve treatment guidelines for the prevention of venous thromboembolism, established by the National Institute of Clinical Health and Excellence (NICE), the UK government's advisory body responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of drugs and clinical treatments in England and Wales.

Results from a clinical trial involving Boehringer's oral direct thrombin inhibitor, show that it is as effective as the current, injectible standard treatment enoxaparin in the prevention of VTE in patients on knee replacement surgery. Dabigatran would be the first medicine available as a pill for these patients, many of whom are elderly and unable to self-inject medication.

NICE Guidelines for the prevention of VTE in patients undergoing orthopedic surgery and other high-risk surgical procedures are due out in May 2007. The need for hospitals to reduce the 25,000 preventable deaths each year from VTE is also highlighted by a UK House of Commons Health Committee Report, Boehringer noted.