–Silicon Valley hype and hubris come to cardiology. We may be close to peak hype and hubris in cardiology. This week some of the smartest people on the planet said that $75 million can help find new ways to prevent heart disease AND, as if that’s not enough, completely reinvent the way we do science….
AstraZeneca Drug ‘Approaching The Point Of Diminishing Returns’
March 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment
After a heart attack (myocardial infarction or MI) patients remain at high risk for recurrent events. The precise role of blood thinning with dual antiplatelet therapy to lower this risk has been the subject of considerable disagreement. Now a new study offers fresh evidence that one important strategy, prolonged dual antiplatelet therapy, can lower risk…
AstraZeneca Drug Improves Outcomes After Heart Attacks
January 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment
For the first time a very large trial has shown that dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) improves cardiovascular outcomes when given to patients one to three years after a heart attack. Because it has been shown previously to reduce the high risk of recurrent events for up to a year following a heart attack, DAPT is considered to be…
US Department Of Justice Ends Investigation Of AstraZenca Trial
August 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment
AstraZeneca announced today that the US Department of Justice has ended its investigation into alleged misconduct associated with the pivotal PLATO trial. The company said it had fully cooperated with the investigation, which began in October of 2013. … Click here to read the full post on Forbes. …
Cardiovascular Outcome Studies in Diabetes Drugs Finally Arrive
September 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
For many years critics have bemoaned the absence of outcome studies for the many diabetes drugs used to lower blood glucose levels. Now, finally, two large trials with different drugs have been presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Amsterdam and published simultaneously in The New England Journal of Medicine. The good news is that…
Pretreatment with Prasugrel Not Indicated in NSTEMI
September 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Although current guidelines strongly recommend that dual antiplatelet therapy be administered early in treating patients with non-ST-segment-elevation acute myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), it is unclear whether pretreatment is beneficial,especially with the newer, more potent and more rapidly acting antiplatelet agents prasugrel (Effient, Lilly) and ticagrelor (Brilinta, AstraZeneca). Now a large new study, ACCOAST, presented at the European Society of…
Top Line Results: No Cardiovascular Benefits Found For Saxagliptin
June 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Top line results of a large phase 4 study with saxagliptin (Onglyza, Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca) demonstrate that the drug is safe but has no cardiovascular benefits. AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb today announced the top line results for the SAVOR-TIMI-53 Cardiovascular Outcomes Trial of Onglyza®. The full results are scheduled to presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology in Amsterdam on…
UK Politician Urges More Use Of Ticagrelor To Preserve AstraZeneca Jobs In UK
January 14, 2013 by 3 Comments
Use it or lose it. A UK politician is urging the National Health Service (NHS) to increase use of the antiplatelet drug ticagrelor (trade name Brilinta in the US, Brilique and Possia in the EU) in order to prevent the loss of British jobs. Like nearly all the major pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca has been fighting…
The Medicines Company Collaborates with AstraZeneca To Sell Brilinta (ticagrelor)
April 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The Medicines Company will collaborate with AstraZeneca to help sell Brilinta (ticagrelor), AstraZeneca’s struggling oral antiplatelet drug. The collaboration is the first stage of “a global collaboration for acute ischemic heart disease compound” announced by the two companies today. AstraZeneca will pay $15 million per year for The Medicines Company’s Brilinta-related sales activities, scheduled to begin in May….
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