AstraZeneca’s Brilinta ‘reduces risk of death due to heart attack’

AstraZeneca's new drug Brilinta is able to reduce the risk of death from heart attack or stroke, even during the long-term follow-up period after the initial incident, according to new research.

The PEGASUS-TIMI 54 study – presented at the annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) session and published in the New England Journal of Medicine – involved 162 people that had previously experienced a cardiovascular event.

Patients were randomly assigned Brilinta at a twice-daily dose of 60 mg or 90 mg or a placebo, with all remaining on a background dose of aspirin.

The primary efficacy endpoint was the composite of myocardial infarction – stroke and death – while the major safety endpoint was the rate of thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) major bleeding. Earlier in the year, the firm confirmed the trial had achieved the former.

Data presented at the ACC revealed that the 60 mg dose of Brilinta reduced the composite endpoint by 16 percent compared to the placebo, while 90 mg was associated with a 15 percent reduction in cardiovascular risk.

Marc Sabatine, lead author of the research, commented: "I would start a patient when they came in with a heart attack and I would keep them on [Brilinta] long-term as long as they are tolerating it [and the] data supports the notion you should continue [Brilinta] indefinitely."