Bayer HealthCare reports positive new data for Xarelto

Bayer HealthCare has announced positive new data from a clinical study of a Xarelto (rivaroxaban) therapy regimen for acute coronary syndrome patients.

Data from the phase III Atlas ACS 2-TIMI 51 study has shown that a combination of twice-daily Xarelto with standard antiplatelet therapy helped to reduce rates of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction and stroke among test subjects.

This means the drug was able to meet its primary efficacy endpoint in the trial, which compared the Bayer treatment to antiplatelet therapy alone.

It was also observed that major bleeding incidents saw an increase among those receiving the Xarelto regimen, but there was no observable rise in the number of fatal bleeding issues.

Dr Kemal Malik, member of the Bayer HealthCare executive committee and chief medical officer, said: "Acute coronary syndrome is a chronic, life-threatening condition and we believe, based on this data, that rivaroxaban could greatly improve the current standard of care."

This comes in the same week that Xarelto received US approval as a means of reducing stroke and systemic embolism risk among patients with atrial fibrillation.