Bayer anticoagulant approved in EU

Marketing approval has been given for a new type of anticoagulant which may be beneficial for patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgeries.

Bayer HealthCare’s novel anticoagulant Xarelto is designed to help prevent the occurrence venous blood clots following such operations and takes the form of a once-daily oral tablet.

The company claims the new drug – approved by the European commission yesterday – is a “significant medical breakthrough” and has been proven more effective than current preventative treatments.

Dr Bengt Eriksson, head researcher in the Xarelto clinical development program and orthopaedic surgeon at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden, stated: “Venous blood clots kill more than half a million people a year in the EU.

“The development of Xarelto, an effective oral, once-daily anticoagulant, which does not need routine coagulation monitoring, is a huge step forward in blood clot prevention and will save lives.”

Approximately 450,000 hip and 300,000 knee replacement surgeries are performed annually in the EU’s five biggest member states, with venous blood clots occurring in 40 to 60 per cent of patients undergoing major orthopaedic surgery without preventative treatment.

Bayer HealthCare recently announced the success of its newly-developed VEGF Trap-Eye in the treatment of age-related Macular Degeneration following a phase II study evaluation.