Rivaroxaban cuts VTE risk in RECORD-1 trial

Germany's Bayer Schering Pharma, part of the Bayer group, says that data from a trial of the once-daily oral anticoagulent rivaroxaban demonstrates that it has significantly-improved efficacy in preventing blood clots in hip replacement surgery compared with the current standard treatment, enoxaparin. The firm added that the drug had reduced the risk of veneous thromboembolism 70%, while maintaining a similarly low bleeding rate to the gold standard treatment.

The findings, presented at the annual American Society of Hematology meeting in Atlanta, are derived from the RECORD 1 study, which recruited around 4,500 patients. In the trial, the safety and efficacy of a 10mg daily dose of rivaroxaban was compared with 40mg of enoxaparin administered via subcutaneous injection.

The trial results also showed that rivaroxaban brought about a relative risk reduction of 88% in the occurrence of major VTE events, and had, in common with enoxaparin, a duration of thromboprophylaxis of five weeks.