Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer report positive Eliquis data

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer have revealed that their collaboratively-developed drug Eliquis has demonstrated efficacy among atrial fibrillation (AF) patients in a new clinical trial.

The drug has been trialled in a phase III study called Aristotle, which evaluated the apixaban compound as a means of treating AF sufferers with an elevated risk of stroke.

Eliquis was able to meet its primary goal of non-inferiority to warfarin in preventing stroke and systemic embolism, as well as its secondary endpoint of superior efficacy and reduction of major bleeding events compared to the control drug.

The partners intend to present detailed data on the Aristotle outcome at this year's European Society of Cardiology Congress, which takes place in Paris in August.

European and US regulatory filings will also be submitted for Eliquis in this specification in the third or fourth quarter of 2011.

This comes after Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer received their first regulatory approval for the drug last month, when the European Commission ratified it as a treatment for venous thromboembolic events among orthopaedic surgery patients.