Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer to present atrial fibrillation drug data

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer are to present clinical data on their collaboratively-developed atrial fibrillation drug apixaban at a forthcoming medical conference.

The partners will be attending the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2010 later this month to talk through preliminary results from a study comparing the efficacy of apixaban with that of aspirin.

This phase III trial has been conducted among patients who are either expected to be or have been demonstrated to be unsuitable for warfarin therapy, a treatment option associated with a risk of bleeding.

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer have been working on the joint development of apixaban since 2007, leveraging both companies' established expertise in the field of cardiovascular therapies.

It is hoped that the successful development of this treatment will deliver a new option for the estimated 4.5 million Europeans affected by atrial fibrillation.

This comes after Bristol-Myers Squibb attended the International Congress of the Transplantation Society earlier this month to present data on belatacept, a new therapeutic option for kidney transplant patients.