Clopidogrel pricey, but may edge aspirin
Your physicians may soon be prescribing a new platelet inhibitor for their heart attack and stroke patients clopidogrel (Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Plavix), approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November.
The drug may be slightly more effective than aspirin in lowering risk of repeat attacks, but before prescribing it, doctors must decide whether it provides enough extra benefit to justify having their patients pay more than the pennies a day aspirin costs. The manufacturers declined to disclose a price, but new drugs typically are priced higher than older competitors as companies try to recover the millions of research dollars.
Clopidogrel was tested on 19,000 patients in 16 countries, and over three years the agent reduced the risk of a repeat heart attack or stroke by about one-third, while aspirin lowered the risk by about one-quarter a small difference. The main side effects of clopidogrel are rash and diarrhea, and study patients suffered slightly fewer ulcer-related side effects than aspirin users.
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