Although medically ill patients remain at risk for VTE after hospital discharge, a strategy of extended oral anticoagulation with apixaban did not prove to be successful in the ADOPT (Apixaban Dosing to Optimize Protection from Thrombosis) trial, which was presented by Samuel Z. Goldhaber at the American Heart Association and published simultaneously in the New England…

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FDA reviewers have recommended against the approval of rivaroxaban (Xarelto, Johnson & Johnson), which will be the subject of a Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee meeting on Thursday. The recommendation comes as a surprise, as many physicians and analysts had expected an easy approval for the drug. The bottom line from the FDA reviewers…

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There’s an old maxim in medicine that one shouldn’t be the first to prescribe a new drug, nor the last. A fascinating debate between Michael Ezekowitz from the U.S. and Felicita Andreotti from Italy highlighted the differences between warfarin and the newer oral anticoagulants (NOACs) apixaban, rivaroxaban, and dabigatran. Even Dr. Ezekowitz, the warfarin protagonist…

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Several important questions about the relative safety and efficacy of apixaban versus warfarin in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation have been answered.

In ancient Greece the philosopher Aristotle thought the golden mean was the desirable middle between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency. In cardiology, apixaban may be the golden mean of anticoagulation, achieving the ideal balance of reduced strokes and deaths without causing any additional bleeding complications. The Apixaban for Reduction in Stroke and…

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At 11:54 a.m. on August 28 in Paris (5:54 a.m. U.S. east coast time), I can almost imagine a huge drop in cell phone call volume as the ARISTOTLE presentation begins at ESC. The ESC exposition site is right next to Charles de Gaulle airport. Will a temporary “no fly zone” be declared? We know…

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A large phase 3 trial of an investigational factor Xa inhibitor, when added to antiplatelet therapy in ACS patients, was stopped early because of bleeding complications.

An electrophysiologist and blogger places the recent approval of rivaroxaban in the context of the seismic changes that have taken place and that are still expected in the anticoagulant marketplace.

Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb said that their new oral direct Factor Xa drug apixaban, which will be marketed under the brand name of Eliquis, had met the primary endpoint of the ARISTOTLE study. The Apixaban for the Prevention of Stroke in Subjects With Atrial Fibrillation (ARISTOTLE) study was designed to compare the factor Xa inhibitor apixaban…

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A new trial presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference and published online in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrates that the novel factor Xa inhibitor apixaban is better than aspirin for the prevention of stroke in AF patients who are unable to take warfarin. Stuart Connolly and investigators in the AVERROES (Apixaban…

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