Interest in anticlotting treatments is being ratcheted up at a meeting of the American Society of Hematology under way in Atlanta, where Johnson & Johnson is presenting data showing that the experimental pill rivaroxaban is superior to Lovenox, an injectable treatment marketed by Sanofi-Aventis SA, in preventing clots in patients undergoing hip- or knee-replacement surgery. Johnson & Johnson is co-developing rivaroxaban with Bayer AG of Germany, which discovered the compound.
Other contenders in the market include Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., which is developing a pill called apixaban with Pfizer Inc.; Eli Lilly & Co.; Boehringer-Ingelheim GmbH of Germany; and closely held Portola Inc., South San Francisco, Calif. All are testing their drugs initially in hip- and knee-replacement patients, who often receive Lovenox. Sanofi-Aventis says that Lovenox is proven safe and effective for such patients and that safety of oral anticoagulant remedies remains unknown.
The big opportunity lies in treating atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat that afflicts an estimated 2.2 million Americans and 5.5 million people world-wide. The condition is a major cause of stroke, and patients need to be on daily therapy for the rest of their lives. Warfarin, a half-century old drug marketed as Coumadin by Bristol-Myers and in generic versions by other companies, is the standard option, but the choice of drug for this condition can be complicated for doctors and patients alike.
More at the WSJ (nice piece Ron and Avery)
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