A new acute coronary syndromes (ACS) drug that is yet to be approved in Australia has been found to be more effective than one of the most common therapies currently available.
In a new study published in the journal Lancet, researchers concluded that patients with ACS who took ticagrelor before an invasive strategy were 16 per cent less likely to die from a heart attack or a stroke than those taking clopidogrel.
Ticagrelor, an oral reversible P2Y12 inhibitor, is currently under consideration for approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, following an application by drug maker AstraZeneca late last year.
AstraZeneca, which sponsored the Lancet study, said it expected receiving approval early next year.
"We estimate that use of ticagrelor instead of clopidogrel for one year in 1,000 patients with acute coronary syndromes and who are planned to undergo an invasive strategy at the start of drug treatment would lead to 11 fewer deaths, 13 fewer myocardial infarctions and six fewer cases of stent thrombosis without an increase in the rates of major bleeding or transfusion," the study's authors wrote.
"These results also support the idea that increased inhibition of platelet P2Y12 receptors can achieve substantial reduction in the rate of mortality when not associated with an increase in the rate of major bleeding."