MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A sub-analysis of the
TRITON-TIMI 38 clinical trial showed that treatment with prasugrel compared
with clopidogrel significantly reduced the risk of new or recurrent heart
attacks (7.4 percent vs. 9.7 percent, p<0.0001), regardless of whether the
events occurred around the time of an artery-opening procedure known as
percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or if they occurred spontaneously
during the longer-term maintenance phase. The analysis was presented today at
the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in Munich, Germany.
The sub-analysis assessed the effect of prasugrel on new or recurrent
heart attacks, occurring in the acute setting and during long-term medical
treatment (up to 15 months) in 13,608 acute coronary syndromes (ACS) patients
who were managed with PCI. New or recurrent heart attacks were classified
according to the ESC Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction as
spontaneous (Type 1) or procedure-related (Type 4 or 5).(1) The analysis
showed that prasugrel consistently and significantly reduced spontaneous (Type
1) heart attacks by 29 percent compared with clopidogrel (2.5 percent vs. 3.4
percent, p=0.0015) and procedure-related recurrent heart attacks (Type 4 or 5)
24 percent in prasugrel-treated patients compared with those taking
clopidogrel (4.9 percent vs. 6.4 percent, p=0.0002).
Long-term treatment with prasugrel, continuing after 30 days for up to 15
months, significantly reduced the risk for patients who suffer any form of
heart attack by 23 percent compared with clopidogrel (2.9 percent vs. 3.7
percent, p=0.01). In the sub-analysis, prasugrel was also shown to reduce the
risk of a future severe heart attack (ST elevation myocardial infarction
(STEMI), a more severe form of ACS with a higher risk of death) by more than
50 percent compared with clopidogrel (p=0.0001).
The main TRITON-TIMI 38 clinical trial, for which overall results were
previously published in the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2007
(Vol. 357 No.20), compared prasugrel with clopidogrel (Plavix(R)/Iscover(R))
in patients with ACS undergoing PCI. In the primary analysis of the trial,
prasugrel reduced the risk of the composite of cardiovascular death, heart
attack or stroke by 19 percent, with an increased risk of major bleeding
compared with clopidogrel (2.4 percent vs. 1.8 percent).(2)
Heart attacks are a major manifestation of coronary heart disease, a
global health problem.
