Boehringer Ingelheim begins Pradaxa study among atrial fibrillation patients

Boehringer Ingelheim has kicked off a new global clinical trial assessing its novel oral anticoagulant Pradaxa among patients with atrial fibrillation.

The first patient has now been enrolled for the RE-CIRCUIT trial, which aims to assess the safety and efficacy of uninterrupted anticoagulation with the dabigatran etexilate-based therapy during ablation procedures compared to warfarin.

Around 700 patients with either intermittent or permanent atrial fibrillation will participate in the study with treatment equally and randomly split between Pradaxa 150mg twice daily or warfarin.

Results from the RE-CIRCUIT study are expected during 2016 and will help to establish the effectiveness of continuous treatment with novel oral anticoagulants during ablation.

Professor Hugh Calkins of Johns Hopkins Hospital, chairman of the RE-CIRCUIT study steering committee, said: "We believe that dabigatran can simplify ablation management for physicians and provide a beneficial alternative to standard anticoagulation with warfarin."

The company is also currently seeking regulatory approval for the Pradaxa reversal agent idarucizumab in the EU, US and Canada.