Pharmaceutical companies will struggle to profit from the cardiovascular disease (CVD) market over the next decade despite growing drug usage, according to Datamonitor, which predicted that the CVD pharmaceutical market will grow from $99 billion in 2008 to $107 billion in 2018.
Antiplatelet agent ticagrelor (Brilinta, AstraZeneca) reduces death rates without increasing bleeding compared with the current standard treatment of clopidogrel for heart attack patients, based on the PLATO-Invasive trial published online Jan. 13 in the Lancet. An accompanying commentary describes the introduction of ticagrelor as “a landmark event that should redefine the care of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS).”
Orlando, Fla.—STEMI patients who received both aspirin and the new reversible oral antiplatelet drug ticagrelor (Brilinta; AstraZeneca) had few cardiac events and less mortality than patients on aspirin and the popular irreversible antiplatelet medication clopidogrel (Plavix; Bristol-Myers Squibb), based on the results of the PLATO STEMI trial, presented during Sunday’s late-breaking clinical trial session at the American Heart Association conference.
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The FDA approved the third thienopyridine agent, prasugrel (Effient, Eli Lilly/Daiichi Sankyo), in July 2009, challenging the U.S. market dominance of clopidogrel (Plavix, Bristol Myers Squibb/Sanofi Aventis). Yet, some cardiologists are being cautious about rapid, widespread adoption, and uptake has been slower than expected. Meanwhile, other options—such as reversible agents—loom on the horizon.
AstraZeneca has submitted its antiplatelet drug, ticagrelor (Brilinta) to the FDA for approval via a new drug application.
Although the Plavix and Lipitor patents expire in 2012, new drug launches will drive an increase of $4.6 billion in the overall coronary heart disease market by 2017, according to the pharmaceutical and healthcare research firm Decision Resources.
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Middle age introduces itself in many ways; one is atrial fibrillation (AF). My onset of AF seems to have coincided with a mountain bike accident in the woods of North Carolina that resulted in some cracked ribs.
The use of health IT to reduce rehospitalizations will be welcome but also disruptive, said Stephen Jencks, an independent consultant in healthcare safety during a Feb. 24 webinar on the potential use of health IT to mitigate rehospitalizations, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).