Boehringer Ingelheim study highlights Pradaxa efficacy

Boehringer Ingelheim has presented new clinical data supporting the safety and efficacy of the drug Pradaxa as a means of preventing stroke among atrial fibrillation (AF) patients.

The company has presented a new post hoc sub-analysis of the major phase III trial RE-LY, which assessed the performance of the drug among 18,113 patients based in 44 countries.

It found that Pradaxa can significantly reduce the risk of stroke compared to warfarin among patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and symptomatic heart failure, while also maintaining benefits in terms of major bleeding incidents.

Dr Stuart Connolly, director of the division of cardiology at McMaster University, said: "This is an important clinical finding given [these] patients … are at high risk of suffering a stroke, and require effective and safe anticoagulation to prevent these potentially disabling and fatal events."

To date, Pradaxa has been approved for the prevention of stroke in AF in more than 50 countries, including in the US and EU.

Earlier this month, the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence provided an unrestricted recommendation for the drug, thanks to its cost-effective performance.