As I mentioned over the weekend, Merck's investment in Portola -- to develop betrixaban -- increasingly looks to become a "me too!" drug -- if Boehringer Ingelheim in fact reaches the market first with Pradaxa. Bloomberg now has more on the coming Cumadin (wafarin) wipe-out:
. . . ."When this is available, we are going to turn to it in droves," Chris Cannon, a cardiologist with Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said in an interview, predicting the change will occur quickly. "This is a huge change and probably is the beginning of a total revolution. Having something that is easier is a game changer to begin with, but to have something that’s better on efficacy and safety and easier is almost unbelievable."
Additional studies are needed to make sure the drug is also effective in other patients, such as those with mechanical heart valves and a history of blood clots, doctors said. . . .
As many here likely know, wafarin was a rat poison that doctors retrofitted (and diluted) some 50 years ago, to handle clotting issues. High time it was retired.
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