Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis’ Plavix no better than standard drug

A study of the effectiveness of Plavix in reducing blood clots was stopped after monitors said that the incidence of stroke and heart problems was too high, according to Reuters.

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi hoped to show that Plavix, a blood-clot prevention drug produced by the companies, was more effective in reducing blood clots than anticoagulants such as warfarin, which carries risks for patients through an increased chance of bleeding.

However, patients taking Plavix suffered from a 47 per cent increase in the number of serious heart problems such as heart attacks, embolisms or deaths. It also found that individuals experienced a 75 per cent rise in the number of strokes.

Stuart Connolly, head of the investigation and director of cardiology at the McMaster University of Hamilton, in Canada, said: “The message is clear that warfarin is superior to Plavix.”

He added that the increase in heart events was “somewhat surprising,” commenting that the “relative increase [in heart events] was significant”. However, he warned that the group of patients who took warfarin had been taking the drug for a while, whereas Plavix patients were on a new therapy.

Amongst Plavix patients with no warfarin experience, the chance of a bleeding incident was decreased by 37 per cent, he said.

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