Previous Posts
- Veterans Affairs Facility Putting Patients at Risk...
- Mallinckrodt recalls One Lot of Sodium Chromate In...
- Philadelphia Swim Club Accused of Racial Discrimin...
- Class I Recall for Respironics' BiPAP Focus Non-In...
- Smoke Detector Recalled for Possible Failure to Al...
- Government Officials Pushing for Stricter Labeling...
- Nine Companies Penalized for Excessive Lead Paint ...
- ACLU Files Suit Against Maplewood Challenging the ...
- Arthroscopic Shavers: Ongoing Safety Review
- FDA Mandates that Darvocet Must Carry Stronger War...
Click Here to View
Our Other Site
Monday, July 13, 2009
Eli Lilly Blood Thinner Approved, despite safety risks
The Food and Drug Administration approved a blood thinner from Eli Lilly, of
Lilly’s Effient is the first real competition to the blood thinner Plavix, which is made by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
A Lilly study of more than 13,000 patients found that thought Effient prevented more heart attacks than Plavix, it caused more internal bleeding. Company studies showed 7 percent of patients taking Effient had nonfatal heart attacks, compared with 9.1 percent of patients taking Plavix. Despite lower rates of certain heart attacks, the actual rates of death for the drugs were similar.
The F.D.A. approval of Effient was 18 months long it weighed the drug’s benefits and risks.
Effient should not be taken by patients with a history of bleeding, stroke or who are undergoing an operation.
Like Plavix, Effient prevents blood platelets from sticking together and forming potentially dangerous clots. Effient is approved only for those undergoing angioplasty, a procedure in which an inflatable balloon is used to clear arteries clogged with plaque, which are often propped open with a stent.
For more information please visit: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm171497.htm
Labels: angioplasty, approval, bleeding, blood thinner, Effient, FDA, heart attack, plavix
posted by
Jessica
at
12:19 PM
<< Home