AstraZeneca reveals positive heart attack drug treatment trials

AstraZeneca's new drug for treatment of patients who have suffered heart attacks has performed well in phase III trials.

Brilinta met its primary endpoint in a trial of 3,801 heart attack patients who were treated with pharmacological thrombolysis.

The findings, revealed at the American College of Cardiology’s 67th Annual Scientific Session in Orlando, suggest Brilinta could be a viable option for treating high-risk heart attack patients who have also previously been given pharmacological thrombolysis – blood thinning – treatment.

Blood thinning is a common form of alternative therapy for heart attack patients who are unable to access primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) to unblock damaged blood vessels.

Dr Otavio Berwanger, chair of the study’s steering committee, said that while pPCI is "considered the gold standard" of heart attack treatment, thrombolysis is an effective alternative.

"Millions of people have a heart attack each year, and how they are treated in the immediate period that follows has huge implications on patient outcomes," he added.

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