Study: Effient reduces cardiovascular risk among younger, heavier patient cohort

INDIANAPOLIS — A special group of patients who participated in a trial of a heart disease drug made by Daiichi Sankyo and Eli Lilly showed fewer heart attacks, strokes and deaths related to cardiovascular disease than patients taking a competing drug, according to an analysis of study results.

Researchers examined results from the "TRITON-TIMI 38" study of Effient (prasugrel), focusing on 10,804 patients who belonged to the "core clinical cohort," meaning patients who were younger than 75, weighed 132 lbs. or more and who had no prior history of stroke or transient ischemic attack, an episode in which a person has stroke-like symptoms for up to one or two hours; transient ischemic attacks are a warning sign of possible future strokes. The Food and Drug Administration approved Effient in 2009.

The analysis showed that among patients in the core clinical cohort, those taking Effient had a 26% reduction in their risk of heart attacks, cardiovascular death or stroke compared with those taking Plavix (clopidogrel), a drug in the same class made by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi.