Boehringer Ingelheim-supported stroke treatment to have wider cost effectiveness trials

Boehringer Ingelheim supported the third International Stroke Trial in which the current modelling analysis for the use of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) was based.

Now, the treatment will be subjected to new trials in which its cost effectiveness in cases of mild stroke can be demonstrated.

David Veenstra from the University of Washington, Seattle, presented a new cost effectiveness analysis at the International Stroke Conference 2014 and wanted to follow this up with wider trials of tPA. 

"The big limitation of our study is that we don't have much effectiveness data yet in mild stroke, so we can't say with authority that it does work in this population, but a large randomised trial of tPA in mild stroke is now starting," Dr Veenstra told Medscape Medical News.

Dr Veenstra explained the treatment can offer unusually good economic value in moderate to severe stroke cases, as it is associated with a gain of 0.39 quality-adjusted life-years at a cost saving of $25,000 (15,000 pounds) per patient.