Pfizer's (PFE) and Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMY) Eliquis blood thinner cut the risk of clots in veins and lungs, and death, by 81% compared with a placebo in major year-long trial. Bleeding was also low. BMY could rack up sales of $4.18B by 2018 if Eliquis is approved - the drug would compete with warfarin, Xarelto from Bayer and J&J (JNJ), and Pradaxa from Boehringer Ingelheim. (PR) [View news story]
Note the efficacy is against placebo, NOT any of the other methods of anticoagulation (blood thinning) -- this is essentially a worthless study. Yes, treatment (thinning blood in at risk patients) is better than no treatement -- DUH!! Until there are head to head trials with Warfarin (coumadin) or the other anticooagulants (Pradexa, Xarelto, aprixiban, etc.) this study is close to meaningless, and at best a Phase I study demonstrating "proof of concept" equivalent.
Also suspect this study was not done in US or EU, since no IRB would approve the placebo arm of the study in "at-risk" patients.
Pfizer's (PFE) and Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMY) Eliquis blood thinner cut the risk of clots in veins and lungs, and death, by 81% compared with a placebo in major year-long trial. Bleeding was also low. BMY could rack up sales of $4.18B by 2018 if Eliquis is approved - the drug would compete with warfarin, Xarelto from Bayer and J&J (JNJ), and Pradaxa from Boehringer Ingelheim. (PR) [View news story]
Yes, treatment (thinning blood in at risk patients) is better than no treatement -- DUH!!
Until there are head to head trials with Warfarin (coumadin) or the other anticooagulants (Pradexa, Xarelto, aprixiban, etc.) this study is close to meaningless, and at best a Phase I study demonstrating "proof of concept" equivalent.
Also suspect this study was not done in US or EU, since no IRB would approve the placebo arm of the study in "at-risk" patients.