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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13 (HealthDay News) -- A new clot-busting drug, Brilinta, may soon take the place of Plavix in treating patients with acute coronary syndrome, which includes angina and heart attack.
In a new trial, the upstart drug, ticagrelor (Brilinta) reduced the risk of second heart attacks and death without raising the risk of bleeding, as clopidogrel (Plavix) can do.
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"For people with acute coronary syndrome, this very well may replace Plavix," said study author Dr. Christopher Cannon, a cardiologist with Brigham and Women's Hospital and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston. "This is pretty compelling evidence from this trial that ticagrelor is better without any increased risk of bleeding."
An accompanying editorial concurred, while also pointing out that, as always, a "personalized approach to drug selection should be used."
The study is published in the Jan. 14 online edition of The Lancet.
Approval for Brilinta from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could come late this year, although it's difficult to predict the timing of such decisions, Cannon noted.
The study was funded by AstraZeneca, which makes Brilinta. Earlier results from the trial were presented at several major medical conferences last year. These published results seem to be the final step in solidifying the ascendancy of the new drug over the mainstay, Plavix.
Combined with other blood-thinning therapies now in the pipeline, these findings may also mark the dawn of a new generation of blood thinners, experts say.
Plavix is used with aspirin to prevent blood clots that can lead to heart attacks, stroke and death. It has been the standard of treatment for heart patients for about a decade, Cannon said.
But the drug has its share of problems, namely a lag time between when it is administered and when it takes effect, and variability in how different individuals respond to it. And because of an increased risk of bleeding, Plavix must be discontinued before surgery, Cannon said.
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