Prasugrel plus aspirin cuts risk of ST vs gold standard

6 April 2008

Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo and US drug major Eli Lilly say that their investigational antiplatelet drug prasugrel plus aspirin produced a marked and highly statistically-significant reduction in the risk of coronary stent thrombosis compared to standard therapy. The data were presented at the American College of Cardiology's 57th Annual Scientific Session in Chicago.

According to a stent analysis from the head-to-head TRITON-TIMI 38 trial, the novel combination is more effective than Sanofi-Aventis' blockbuster Plavix (clopidogrel) plus aspirin (1.13% versus 2.35%, p<0.0001). Prasugrel reduced the relative risk of coronary stent thrombosis by 52% (1.13% vs 2.35%, p<0.0001). In patients who received drug-eluting stents, treatment with prasugrel reduced relative risk by 64% over clopidogrel (0.84% vs 2.31%, p<0.0001), and by 48% in patients who received bare metal stents (1.27% vs 2.41%, p=0.0009).

Indianapolis-headquartered Lilly is hoping that the Daiichi Sankyo-originated drug will help it recoup losses as US patents on several of its key products expire over the next few years. In 2011, the firm will lose exclusivity on its top earner, the antipsychotic Zyprexa (olanzapine), which had peak annual domestic sales of $2.6 billion. Another key drug, Actos (pioglitazone), an antidiabetic co-developed with Takeda and Watson Pharmaceuticals, with peak US revenues of $4.4 billion, also faces patent expiration in 2011. Prasugrel's main rival, Plavix, was the world's fourth highest-selling drug in the 12 months to August 2007 (Marketletter October 22), earning almost $6.0 billion in global sales last year.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free.  A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Login to your account

Become a subscriber

 

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now
  • Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
  • Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
  • Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
  • Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
  • Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK



Companies featured in this story

More ones to watch >


Today's issue

Company Spotlight